Monday-September28-Jerry Bridges

Don’t Interpret; Learn!

Remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you … that he might humble you.

(Deuteronomy 8:2)

Because God’s wisdom is infinite and His ways inscrutable to us, we should also be very careful in seeking to interpret the ways of God in His providence, especially in particular events. Additionally, we need to be cautious of others who offer themselves as interpreters about the why and wherefore of all that is happening. Be wary of those who say, “God let this happen so you could learn such and such a lesson.” The fact is, we don’t know what God is doing through a particular set of circumstances or events.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek to learn from God’s providence as well as His revealed will in Scripture. Quite the contrary. The psalmist learned God’s decrees experientially through affliction (Psalm 119:71). The people of Israel also learned through God’s adverse providence in their lives: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). God taught the nation through His divine providence—through putting them in a situation where they could not simply go to the cupboard for their daily bread—that they were utterly dependent upon Him. God was leading the nation into a land where material provision would be “naturally” plentiful (Deuteronomy 8:7–9). He knew they would be tempted by the pride of their own hearts to say, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (verse 17). So before they entered the land, God taught them about their dependence on His divine providence.