• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

DONATE
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Our Bloggers
    • Commenting Policy
  • Reading Lists
  • Scholar’s Compass
    • Scholar’s Compass Booklet
    • View Recent Posts
  • Connect
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Donate
    • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Christ / Christ and the Academy / Instruments of Symphonic Providence (Scholar’s Compass)

Instruments of Symphonic Providence (Scholar’s Compass)

February 17, 2015 by Brian Dennison No Comments

viola photo
Photo by toolmantim

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 ESV

Where I am now is not where I would have planned fifteen years ago, but cliché as it may seem, where I am is much better than what I could have asked for or imagined. – Dano Jukanovich, Faithful Is Successful

Reflection

At one of these home church meetings a spiritually gifted guest offered a word about me in absentia. He told my parents that God had plans for my life. He said that I would go a lot of different ways and do a lot of different things, but that somehow God was going to tie the pieces of a diverse and prodigal life together for His glory.

As I have lived out my life (I am a 42 year-old lawyer turned missionary in Uganda) I have seen this prophetic word come to pass in amazing ways. Over and over again God pick up pieces from my past and puts them to His use. I am often in awe to see how God orchestrates my life. At times life plays out like a surprising—yet carefully composed—symphony.

But how unique is my own personal experience? Were the prophetic words spoken about me actually words of general truth?

Reading Dano Jukanovich’s chapter from the recent book Faithful is Successful leads me to reflect on God’s promise to work out all things for good for all those who love him.

Dano’s story is one where the pieces of his life have fit together in amazing and inspiring ways. Dano can speak to God’s providence that has led him through several seasons in life up to his present post in Kingdom-building corporate finance in Rwanda. Dano shows us that God had a crazy/awesome plan for him. Dano teaches that if we trust God with big decisions we can be amazed in how He can use us.

As I think about God using the pieces of our lives, I am struck with the importance of seasons (or to use a symphonic term—‘movements’). For God to use Dano, Dano had to be willing to enter new seasons. Like the rich young ruler, Dano had to be willing to step out of his established comfort zones. Unlike the tearful ruler, Dano was willing to follow the Lord’s leading.

A willingness to embrace gives God the chance to demonstrate his providence, faithfulness and love. If we are willing to transition in response to God’s leading we can rest assured that He will use us for good. And sometimes, as is the case with Dano, God actually allows us to see the good He does through us.

Before concluding, let me offer a few words of caution about seasons. First, Dano’s story has an upward trajectory and an impressive destination. However, for many of us life will be more discursive and less interesting. We must fight discouragement if we do not see God using our own faithfulness in such exciting ways. Second, it is important to note that Dano did not jump hurriedly and haphazardly from job to job. Instead, Dano spent quality time in his stations in life. The pacing of Dano’s life is a good lesson to those in a rush to move on to more exciting and extreme experiences. We need to remember that seemingly mundane seasons can bear amazing fruit.

Questions

Has God given you a chance to see a glimpse of “symphonic providence” in the way He has used your life experiences?

Can you think back on the seasons of your own life and reflect on how God was forming and equipping you during each season?

Prayer

Almighty God . . . deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ . . . Amen.

-from the Book of Common Prayer

Further Reading

Jukanovich, Dano. “Full-time Life.” Faithful is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim. Nathan Grills, David E. Lewis, and S. Joshua Swamidass, eds. Denver, Colorado: Outskirts Press, 2014. 36-54.

About the author:

Brian Dennison
Posts

Brian Dennison is the Manager of Faith Learning and Service at Uganda Christian University where he also serves as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law and Coordinator of the Clinical Legal Education Program.

Brian holds a Bachelors Degree, a Masters in Business Administration and Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia. Prior to joining Uganda Christian University, Brian practiced law in Savannah, Georgia. Brian is pursuing a PhD in Private Law from the University of Cape Town.

Brian, his wife Mary Jane and their four children have been in Uganda since 2008. They are missionaries with SAMS USA.

    This author does not have any more posts.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Christ and the Academy, Scholar's Compass Tagged With: Faithful is Successful, Scholar's Compass

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Become a Member

Membership is Free. Sign up and receive our monthly newsletter and access ESN member benefits.

Join ESN Today

Scholar’s Compass Booklet

Scholar's Compass Booklet

Click here to get your copy

Top Posts

  • The Mechanism of Creation - The View from Science, Pt. 2
  • A Prayer for Those Finishing a Semester
  • The Message of Genesis 1
  • Faith and Reason, Part 2: Augustine
  • Christian Views of Creation

Facebook Posts

Facebook Posts

Footer

About Us

The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) is a national network within InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries which supports those on the academic pathway as they work out how their academic vocation serves God and others. We encourage and equip undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and early career faculty as they navigate each stage of their academic vocation and transition to the next step in or beyond the academy.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

  • Forgiveness
  • Confession
  • Temptation: The Little Lie

Article Categories

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us
Member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students
Copyright © 2023 - InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA ®. All rights reserved.

InterVarsity, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, and the InterVarsity logo are trademarks of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and its affiliated companies.