Providential Connections - Bruce Atchison

How I wish providence was taught as a primary doctrine in churches. Had this been done in my hearing before I joined a cult, I would have realized that house church for what it was.

This congregation believed that the name of Jesus was like a limitless credit card. If we just had enough faith, we could get whatever we wanted from God. And when my many tearful petitions during fifteen-and-a-half years for good sight went unanswered, I grew bitter.

This rage at a supposedly stingy deity drove me away from him for nine years. But he never gave up on me. For that, I'm eternally grateful.

I happened to be scanning the shortwave dial one winter evening when I discovered, of all things, a Christian death metal show called Tempered Steel. The enthusiasm of announcer Dale Early drew me into the music and I became a regular listener.

Since Dale seemed like a level-headed guy, I wrote and asked him about why I hadn't been healed of my poor sight in spite of my striving to build up my faith.

His hand-written answer pinpointed the problem. Nobody explained God's providence as plainly as he did.

Even knowing this, I still felt cheated by God since he could easily have healed me. But after some circumstances, which I need not explain here, I realized that I'd been swindled by phony Christians.

I wrote my third memoir in 2012 so that other victims of false teachers would see how the heavenly Father used providence to guide me out of error and into his restorative truth. Never have I ever been so content to rely upon his will for my life.

I'm Glad I Missed That Bus - Bruce Atchison.

Why doesn't God do miracles today? That was what I often wondered throughout my childhood and early adult years. The Bible is filled with accounts of supernatural healings, storms being stopped, days being lengthened, armies routed, food being multiplied, and dead people being resurrected. Not until a few years ago did I learn of a special sort of miraculous process that occurs continually, yet we rarely acknowledge it.

As R. C. Sproul once explained on his Renewing Your Mind radio program, providence requires much more in the way of miraculous power than any straight-forward miracle would. So many factors have to line up perfectly for the providential act to take place. I experienced many of these, one of the most notable being the time I missed the last bus home after a meeting of shortwave enthusiasts.

When I told Don, the man in whose house the meeting was held, what happened, he graciously let me sleep on his couch. Since he didn't provide me with a disposable razor or tooth brush, I looked dishevelled the next morning when I reported to work at the airports branch of the federal government. I usually brought a bag lunch to work but as I hadn't been home to make one, I ate lunch at the cafeteria. While speaking to an acquaintance seated across from me, I mentioned that I needed a new place to live as my current apartment was too noisy. She said the main floor of her house was vacant and asked if I would be interested in seeing it. When I arrived there the next Sunday afternoon, I knew that the place would be much better than that hole in the wall I currently rented.

Because of one missed bus, I ended up renting a much better place where I had three years of peace. The embarrassment I felt about waiting on the wrong side of the street and having to beg a night's lodging from the president of the Canadian International DX Club was far outweighed by the years of quietude I enjoyed at my acquaintance's house.

My upcoming How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity memoir contains many examples of God's kind providence. Even his letting me join a cultic house church has redounded to his glory in that I now know the truth. Because of being deceived, I feel a burning desire to defend the Word.

My previous books, When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) and Deliverance from Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School) also show the Lord's providence in my life, even though some experiences were far from enjoyable. Read more about them here. You're also welcome to write to me directly if you like.