The providence of God is the bedrock belief that enables us to confidently encounter life's tragedies, triumphs, and perplexities. Have you ever been tempted to think that a loving, all-wise, and all-powerful God is not the one in control of your circumstances? Dr. Layton Talbert takes you on a journey through the Scriptures to trace the unmistakable outline of God's shadow on human events. Survey God's providence in the pages of the Bible, consider examples of His rule over history, and translate the practical reality of His providence into the here and now of your life. 322 pages, softcover from Journeyforth.
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5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Andrew Weaver (Pittsburgh, PA), June 04, 2002
Dr. Layton Talbert has given us a treasure. Not By Chance feeds the soul with a deep and penetrating look at how God relates to this universe -- and to each of us. This book should be read slowly and thoughtfully. Every chapter is stocked with delicious, soul-nourishing morsels. Dr. Talbert shows great respect for the text of Holy Scripture. His scholarship is solid, not arrogant. (It's refreshing to find an author who doesn't force anti-supernatural presuppositions down our throats.) I picture the author sitting at his desk with an open Bible. I see him prayerfully reflecting on hundreds of biblical texts -- trying to understand what God intended rather than reading his own ideas into the text. As a result, an aroma of honesty, humility, and delight fills Dr. Talbert's work. Not By Chance is theology at its best -- Scriptural, practical, and life-changing.
Write a review of Not By Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God
Author: Layton Talbert
Located in: Travelers Rest, SC
Submitted: February 01, 2002
Tell us a little about yourself. Father of five children, ages 1-16, whom we
homeschool. We also care for my mother (age 80),
who has Alzheimer's Disease and has lived with us
at home for the past 8 years. I am on the
Seminary faculty at Bob Jones University where I
teach a variety of graduate courses in theology
and exposition.
What was your motivation behind this project? My motivation for the book is to provide a
readable, practical, biblical-theological study
of the providence of God that addresses questions
with which we all wrestle and offers an expressly
biblical framework for answering those questions.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? The principle aim of the book is to confront the
reader with the words of God regarding the
reality of providence (a profoundly personal and
pertinent topic that saturates the Scriptures).
My hope is that we will, by careful consideration
of the express statements of Scripture, learn to
adjust our thinking to God's thinking and grow in
our capacity to trust our sovereign and good God
in all the practical (and sometimes impractical)
circumstances of daily life.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? Apart from my central focus on unfolding a wide
variety of pertinent Scriptures, one of my
guiding purposes has been to collect and
introduce to readers corroborative and thought-
provoking material that many are not likely to
encounter otherwise, especially in the context of
God's providence--including poets such as George
Herbert, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Archibald
Rutledge, writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C.
S. Lewis, missionaries such as Rosalind Goforth,
John Paton and Olive Fleming Liefeld, history-
makers such as Martin Luther and Henry VIII,
moderns such as John Blanchard, John Piper and
Jerry Bridges, preachers such as Charles Spurgeon
and Charles Simeon, explorer William Bartram, and
literary works such as Robinson Crusoe, Hamlet
and Henry V.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: If you have ever wondered who, really, is in
charge--especially when things don't happen the
way it seems they should if an all-powerful and
always good God is in control; if you want to
know what the Bible teaches about what providence
is and how it works and what it includes; if you
have puzzled over the paradox of divine
determination and human responsibility when it
comes to salvation; if you have wrestled with why
you should pray if God is already in control of
everything; and if you are interested in taking a
biblical journey from the life of Joseph to the
hardening of Pharaoh's heart, through the
stunning variety of providential means that God
uses in the Books of Kings and on through a
surprising study of Esther, pausing for Job's
perspective on how sin and Satan fit into the
equation of God's providence, contemplating the
evident providences of God in the life and death
of Jesus Christ, and tracing the ongoing
providential activity of God in the church from
Acts right up to the present, then you will be
interested in this book.
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