God’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Providence (Chapter 5, Paragraph 3)

“God, in His ordinary providence, maketh use of means…”

This opening affirms that God usually works through ordinary means. He uses natural laws, human choices, and created systems to accomplish His purpose. He gives daily bread through farms and jobs. He heals through doctors and medicine. He advances His gospel through preaching and missionaries.

This teaches us that ordinary is not unspiritual. The God who split the Red Sea is the same God who works through a child’s faithful obedience, a sermon heard on a Sunday morning, or a timely word from a friend. God’s sovereignty is not limited to the spectacular. It rules the mundane.

“…yet is free to work without, above, and against them at His pleasure.”

Though God ordinarily uses means, He is not bound to them. He can work:

• Without means, such as when He created the world out of nothing (Gen. 1).

• Above means, such as when He caused Sarah to conceive in old age (Gen. 21).

• Against means, such as when He preserved the three men in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3), or Jesus walked on water (Matt. 14:25).

This is what we call the miraculous—when God suspends or overrides natural laws to reveal His power in a direct and unmistakable way. Miracles remind us that the Creator is never subject to creation. Nature is not autonomous. God is not a prisoner of process. When He wills, He can interrupt the ordinary for His glory.

But miracles are the exception, not the rule. That is why they are often clustered in redemptive history: around Moses, Elijah and Elisha, Christ and the apostles. They are signs pointing to God’s power and confirming His message. We should not demand or expect the miraculous as if they were routine. Instead, we should marvel that the God who made the universe continues to sustain it—and us—moment by moment.

This balanced view of providence protects us from two common errors:

• Deism, which wrongly says God created the world but now leaves it alone.

• Mysticism, which expects constant supernatural intervention and overlooks God's ordinary work.

Instead, we affirm that God is always present and active—ordinarily through means, and occasionally through miracles, all according to His perfect will.

Application for the Believer:

You don’t need a miracle to be sure God is working. The same God who parted the sea also feeds the birds, numbers the hairs on your head, and guides your steps through ordinary days. Trust Him in both the natural and the supernatural. Be faithful in daily duties—He is working through them. And when He chooses to work beyond what you expect, rejoice. Whether quietly or miraculously, your God is near, wise, and good. Let your faith rest in His presence, not in outward signs. The Lord of heaven and earth governs all things, and He is with you always.