Mitch Holthus’s voice is familiar to every Kansas City Chiefs fan who listens to the radio. For 26 years, he has been the Chiefs Radio Network’s play-by-play announcer, calling each touchdown with his gravelly voice. Before head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes joined the team, the Chiefs had not appeared in a Super Bowl in 50 years. He discussed the long drought as part of divine providence. “I had a couple of texts from brothers in the Lord who have said exactly that. Now, God doesn’t care who wins, and God is a God of waiting, and we’re blessed in waiting, but it has been a long wait. But now I see His hand in a lot of things, whether we win this thing or not.”

Ruth 1-2 – Divine Provision

I believe God works all things together for good in His children’s lives. Whether it’s a football team or Ruth, who was providentially brought together with Boaz (Ruth 2), a wealthy and influential man in Israel, the result was blessings that extended far into the future, including a husband and a son. God even blessed her by including her in the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). This doesn’t exempt God’s people from sorrow and hardship, and all suffering seems painful at the time. All things are under God’s sovereign control, and nothing can touch us that He has not approved. He sends discipline and heartache into our lives to purify us and make us more like Christ, but the blessings far outweigh the hardships in the long run. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

You don’t often hear someone in sports use the word providence unless they are talking about the college basketball team. This English word captures a significant biblical teaching. Here’s how John Piper explains it in his book, Providence. “The word providence is built from the word provide, which has two parts: pro (Latin ‘forward,’ ‘on behalf of’) and vide (Latin, ‘to see’). So, you might think that the word provides would mean ‘to see forward’ or ‘to foresee.‘ But it doesn’t. It means, “to supply what is needed’; ‘to give sustenance or support.’ So, in reference to God, the noun providence has come to mean ‘the act of purposefully providing for or sustaining and governing the world.’

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete believe God sees to it that things happen to accomplish His will.