NOTHING IS WASTED-Conversation One: The Invisible Hand of God

Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of Life

of Christ International Ministries, where we

build stronger lives, deeper faith, and Christ

-centered homes through biblical teaching, practical

wisdom, and life -changing conversations. I'm

your host, Barry Mwamba. Today, I want to invite

you into one of the most comforting, and at the

same time, one of the most overlooked truths

in the entire Bible. But before we begin, let

me ask you something. What if I told you that

some of the greatest miracles in your life may

never look like miracles at all? What if I told

you that one conversation, one delay, one disappointment,

one unexpected meeting, one closed door, or even

one painful season could be part of a story that

God has been writing long before you ever recognized

it? Because today, we're going to talk about

something the Bible speaks about from Genesis

to Revelation, yet many believers rarely think

about. We're going to talk about the providence

of God, living under the providence of God. This

truth has changed the way I see life, the way

I see disappointments, the way I see victories,

the way I see unanswered prayers, even the way

I see the ordinary moments that most people would

simply call coincidence. Let me ask you another

question. Have you ever looked back at your life

and realized, if that door hadn't closed, I would

have never met my spouse? If I hadn't lost that

job, I would have never discovered my purpose.

If I hadn't moved to that city, I would have

never met those people. If that conversation

had never happened, my entire future would have

been different. At the time, none of it made

sense. You thought life was falling apart. Years

later, you realized life wasn't falling apart.

It was quietly falling into place. I think every

mature believer eventually begins to notice something.

There are simply too many coincidences to keep

calling them coincidences. The right person appears

at exactly the right moment. A phone call arrives

just when you needed encouragement. A delay frustrates

you for months, only for you to discover later

that it protected you from something you couldn't

see. A prayer God didn't answer becomes the very

reason you later thank him. Have you ever thanked

God for saying no? Have you ever thanked Him

for making you wait? I know I have. Not because

waiting is enjoyable, but because time has taught

me something. God's wisdom is infinitely greater

than my urgency. The older I become, the less

I believe in coincidence. Not because life suddenly

makes perfect sense, but because I keep looking

back and seeing God's fingerprints where I once

thought there was only chance. I believe one

day, every believer reaches a point where they

stop asking, was that luck? And begin asking,

Lord, were you already there? And I believe the

answer is yes, far more often than we realize.

One of the greatest misconceptions among Christians

is believing that God only works through miracles.

We celebrate the Red Sea. We celebrate Jericho.

We celebrate Elijah calling fire down from heaven.

We celebrate Lazarus walking out of the tomb.

And we should. Those moments reveal the incredible

power of God. But here's what I've discovered.

The greatest evidence of God's presence is not

always His miracles. Sometimes, it's His providence.

Providence is one of the most beautiful truths

in the Bible. Simply put, God's providence is

His invisible hand, guiding history while everyone

else thinks life is unfolding normally. It is

God accomplishing His purpose through ordinary

days, ordinary people, ordinary conversations,

ordinary decisions. Nothing appears spectacular.

Nothing seems supernatural. Yet heaven is quietly

moving every piece into its proper place. Most

of the people involved don't even realize that

God is writing the story. That is Providence.

Listen carefully to what Paul writes in Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8. And we know that in all things God

works for the good of those who love him, who

have been called according to his purpose. Notice

what Paul does not say. He doesn't say, everything

is good. The betrayal wasn't good. The sickness

wasn't good. The injustice wasn't good. The rejection

wasn't good. The loss wasn't good. Paul isn't

asking us to pretend evil is good. He's saying

something much deeper. God is so sovereign that

he is able to work through every circumstance

without becoming the author of evil. That changes

everything, because it means evil never has the

final word. People make real choices. Some choose

love. Others choose hatred. Some choose obedience.

Others choose rebellion. Those choices are real.

The consequences are real. The pain is real.

Yet above all of human history stands a God so

wise, so powerful, so sovereign, that nothing

catches him by surprise. Nothing forces him to

rewrite his plan. Nothing can stop his purpose.

He never panics. He never improvises. Before

you ever experienced today, he was already standing

in tomorrow. That's why he can lead you with

confidence. Because he has already seen the end,

while you are still trying to understand the

beginning. Now, let me show you what this looks

like. Let's begin with Joseph. Not Joseph, the

husband of Mary. Joseph, the dreamer. If you

only read Genesis chapter 37, you might conclude,

Genesis 37 · chapter mention

that Joseph's life was a complete disaster. His

own brothers hated him. The people who should

have protected him betrayed him. They threw him

into a pit. Imagine that. One day, you're sharing

the dream God placed in your heart. The next

day, you're sitting at the bottom of a pit, wondering

whether you're going to die. Then things became

even worse. They sold him like property. Can

you imagine the confusion? Lord, you gave me

dreams. You gave me promises. Why does my life

look like it's moving in the opposite direction?

Have you ever asked that question? Lord, I obeyed

you. I trusted you. Why does everything seem

to be getting harder? Joseph probably asked those

same questions. Then came Potiphar's house. Maybe

now things are finally improving. Then false

accusations. Then prison. Years pass. Nothing

changes. The dreams seem forgotten. Have you

ever lived through a season where heaven felt

silent? where every prayer seemed to echo without

an answer. Joseph knew that feeling. But here's

what amazes me. The Bible never says, God abandoned

him. Instead, again and again, the scriptures

quietly repeat, but the Lord was with Joseph.

Think about that. God was with him in the pit.

God was with him as a slave. God was with him

in prison. His circumstances changed. God's presence

never did. Sometimes we measure God's faithfulness

by our circumstances. God measures his faithfulness

by his presence. Those are two very different

things. Then, one ordinary morning, everything

changed. A forgotten prisoner was called before

Pharaoh. One conversation, one interpretation,

one appointment, one promotion. Years of preparation

came together in a single day. Tell me, was that

coincidence? No. That was Providence. Then Joseph

stood before the very brothers who betrayed him

and spoke one of the most remarkable statements

in all of scripture. You meant evil against me,

but God meant it for good. Notice what Joseph

didn't say. He didn't excuse their sin. He didn't

pretend evil wasn't evil. He called it exactly

what it was. You meant evil. Your intentions

were sinful. Your decisions were wrong. You are

responsible for what you chose. But then Joseph

lifts our eyes higher. God never lost control.

While they thought they were destroying Joseph,

God was preserving a nation. While they thought

they were ending a dream, God was positioning

a deliverer. The brothers were making decisions.

God was writing history. That is Providence.

Now, let me introduce you to another man, a man

named Moses. Because if Joseph teaches us that

God works through betrayal, Moses teaches us

that God works through waiting. And sometimes,

waiting is the hardest classroom God will ever

place us in. We'll begin there next time, because

what looks like a delay may actually be God preparing

you for the assignment you've been praying for

all along. Until then, remember this. You may

not always recognize God's hand while you're

living the story, but one day you'll look back

and discover He was there. guiding every step

all along, together in faith, together in Christ.