This summer the Pacific Ocean is experiencing a warming period that occurs every several years. It is called El Nino (Spanish for “little boy”), and researchers say that this particular El Nino, which is larger than most, will cause more significant disruption to world weather patterns than some of the recent ones we have experienced. El Ninos have been occurring for centuries, although we have been monitoring them only for the past century or so, and as we do, we are learning more about them. Warming waters in the Pacific Ocean, occurring this summer, will have an impact on our weather this coming fall and winter here in Southern Alberta. Enough data has been collected to say that we can expect a warmer, drier winter with a smaller snowpack followed by a warm and dry spring and summer. We will see how accurate the computer models that have been used to shape this forecast will be.

While El Ninos have been happening for centuries, what has changed is our monitoring of them. And, with that monitoring, some countries have begun to take action to prevent the challenges that are almost certain to come. Peru, for example, has lowered limits on anchovy fishing because the supply of those fish declines during an El Nino summer. India is making preparations for longer dry spells and harsher rain events by lowering its predictions for food production. Here in southern Alberta, we should be considering how we can manage our water supplies over the next year so that we are not caught insufficient water in our systems for cropping next summer. By knowing what is coming, we can make adjustments in order to lessen any negative impact we might experience.

There is a theological word that can be used in this regard: providence. “Providence” literally means “to see before.” With more data derived from past years, through computer modelling, scientists, governments, farmers, home owners and many more can see ahead to the next year and have an idea of what is coming. But providence is more than just seeing ahead; providence is also making provision to meet the needs of what is coming. Foreseeing, if one is wise, also includes action.

We often speak of the providence of God. In Lord’s Day 10 of the Heidelberg Catechism, we learn that providence is “the almighty and ever presence of God by which he upholds [all of creation so that] all things come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand.” God, who is not bound by time, can look ahead to see what will be happening, and he acts ahead of time to provide for the situations as they arise.

Providence is different from determinism. Determinism, in its “Christian” form says that God pre-determines everything that is going to happen. Extreme determinism says that God actually fore-ordains everything that is going to happen, and this is a dangerous position because, if we hold to it, we are in danger of making God the author of sin, and that cannot be. Determinism is very mechanical and wooden whereas providence is much more fluid and organic. Providence understands God to foresee events before they happen and, as a result, he steps in to act in such a way as to provide through them. God’s providence is not dependent on human forecast (as in the case of the weather) but, rather, it is possible because he is already in our futures before we get there. When we arrive at a particular time, God has already been there because God is not limited by time. (This is a concept which is impossible for me to understand, but I do believe it.)

This past week, I was reading an article written by a Roman Catholic scholar, and he reminded me that God’s providence has a corollary. God sees beforehand what is best for us, but, equally important, we must accept what he sends. The Catechism, also in Lord’s Day 10, uses different words to describe the same: we can be patient when things don’t go well, thankful when they do, and confident that no matter what we will always know the love of God the Father. To put it another way, we can accept the theological truth of God’s providence, namely that he knows what is coming and is already present in the future to deal with what is coming, but we also need to respond in faith. If God is truly God and if he is also our Father, and if he is already in the future, preparing for us what we need, then we should be able to trust him explicitly.

It seems to me that the rather simple thing is to accept that God sees the future and is already in the future to act and to provide for us as the future arrives. What is more challenging is to have faith that all will be well in the end. This doesn’t mean that things will be easy or that the road will be smooth. But, as Proverbs 3:4,5 states, when we trust in the Lord with all our hearts, he will make our paths straight. In Israel, a place where there is rarely a straight path, the wish for a straight path for the traveler is that he arrive at his destination safely no matter what the road is like. Because we have a providential God who is able to see the future and take care of us before we get there, we are asked to respond in faith, trusting that God will bring us safely through whatever it is that lies ahead.

Our forecasting abilities, based on analyzing the data tell us that El Nino will cause some problems for millions, perhaps billions of people, and while we can make adjustments to our lives, all our efforts don’t guarantee a safe passage. We might be able to glimpse the future, but we are not able to interact with the future until it arrives. We can merely prepare for what might be coming. But because God is not bound by time, he not only sees the future but he is already in it, shaping it in such a way that all things will ultimately work for our good and for his glory. We can be confident of this, for as the Catechism also says with regard to God’s providence, he is not only almighty (omnipotent, totally powerful), he is also our Father through Jesus Christ, we can have confidence that he will keep us secure.