Providence Overcomes Self-Reliance

One

Self-Reliance

So many of our self-destructive habits would be healed if we stopped believing everything depends on us alone and learned to trust Divine Providence instead of trying to control everything ourselves. Relying on Divine Providence does not mean irresponsibility. 

Providence comes from pro-videre, “to see ahead.” It means three things: God sees all things from all eternity, God sees and accompanies us in the present moment, and God sees all things to the best conclusion.

Two

Making a Cake with Cormac

Saturday morning, my five-year-old grandson Cormac didn’t know he would be making a cake that night. But I did. I thought about it ahead of time. I planned. I went to the store. I gathered everything that would be needed before he ever arrived. That is a near-perfect human analogy for eternal Providence.

From all eternity, God has already seen the whole of our lives, foreseen every need, every difficult and painful moment, prepared graces in advance, and arranged circumstances we do not yet recognize as gifts.

We often experience life as surprise or interruption. God experiences it as prepared generosity.

Three

God oversees and guides in the present moment

That night when Cormac came to my house, I didn’t hand him the recipe and say, “Good luck.” I stayed there with him, right by his side. I showed him what to do. I even held his hand while measuring, pouring, cracking eggs, and using the mixer.

Providence is not only God having planned everything. It is God actively overseeing everything now: inspiring, guiding, steadying, correcting, encouraging, sometimes quite literally holding our hand.

This is why docility matters so much. The child who trusts the adult doesn’t need to understand the recipe. He only needs to stay close and cooperate.

Four

God brings everything to a good conclusion

Then came the part Cormac never saw. We put the cake in the oven, and then he went home. But I stayed there and watched over everything to ensure the best outcome. I watched the cake as it baked. I made sure it didn’t burn. I took it out and let it cool before I covered it and put it safely in the refrigerator. Then, while he slept, I got all the ingredients for the frosting together. I went to the store to get the vanilla ice cream. Then Sunday afternoon, I took the cake out to come to room temperature. I made the buttercream frosting. And when Cormac returned Sunday afternoon, I let him finish frosting the cake.

This is a quietly profound image of Providence. Much of what God does for us happens: outside our awareness, beyond our control, after we think our part is “done.” And yet Scripture tells us plainly why, “God works all things for good for those who love him.”

Not some things. Not obvious things. All things!

Five

Resolution

Providence means that God is watching over you. From all eternity, He saw what you would go through. In every moment, He is with you, there to help you. He will see absolutely everything in your life come to the perfect conclusion. If we trust Him and cooperate with Him. That means, don’t turn away and don’t resist.

How does God actually carry out His Providence in our lives? Not abstractly and not from a distance. God orders and governs all things through the Holy Spirit, who is present in every moment, inspiring, guiding, and bringing all things to their true end. The Holy Spirit carries out this providential work through Mary. Speaking of the Holy Spirit, the Book of Wisdom 8:1 says, “She deploys her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things for good.”

The Holy Spirit carries out God’s Providence. The Holy Spirit carries out God’s providential work in our lives through Mary. So, concretely, if we want to cooperate with Providence, then develop a deep personal friendship with Our Lady. Slow down, consecrate everything to her from moment to moment. Ask her what to do, then pay attention to her subtle inspirations in your heart, and do them the best you can. This is how you learn to let the Holy Spirit and Mary carry you through life. This is how we learn to live by Providence.

St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote, “One thing only need always be there and must always be nourished: being led by Mary, conforming ever more completely to her will.” 504