Message from Tim

D.V. 

D.V. stands for ‘deo volente’. To my (pleasant) surprise I found that remnants of the Latin I learned over 40 years ago at school have bubbled up in my mind, enabling me to identify this as an ‘ablative absolute’ construction, the equivalent of an English dependent adverbial clause, meaning ‘God willing’, ‘if God wills’.

It’s a long time since I have seen this abbreviation in use – that could be because it has gone out of fashion, or maybe I move in different church circles these days, but I do remember listening to church notices where announcements about the following Sunday were generally accompanied by the phrase ‘the Lord willing’. And if Christians wrote about their future plans, they would sometimes add, ‘D.V’. – just as a way of making clear that everything was subject to God’s will. Part of the reasoning behind this was the idea that the second coming of Christ could happen without warning at any moment (as indeed it could!), and so writing ‘D.V.’ served to underscore the provisional nature of all future arrangements, as well as fostering a sense of the need to be prepared for the Lord’s return.

The sentiment is clearly expressed (albeit without reference to the Second Coming) in James 4:13-16

‘Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.’

No long-term planning here! Instead we find a profound sense of uncertainty about the future - who knows what tomorrow may bring? Nothing can be taken for granted. Instead these verses call for a humble trust in the providence of God – his foreseeing care, guidance and provision.

These are perhaps apt words for our times,. Who could have predicted the last six months? There is certainly no unanimity about how the next six months are going to pan out. I am writing this on 15th October for a bulletin that will be published on the 25th. A bit of me wants to ask Paul to add ‘D.V’ to whatever notices appear in this edition of the bulletin – whatever we are planning for the end of October, there is a real possibility that it may not actually take place.

Of course, government restrictions will probably end up playing a major part in what we can and can’t do, and I acknowledge that. But I am thankful as well that God outranks Her Majesty’s Government in terms of authority: His plans and purposes are not provisional, and He knows what He is doing. That’s why, in a world of turmoil and uncertainty, there is a degree of peace to be found in seeking God’s will and in following His path. Faced with a frightening array of options as to what could happen or go wrong, I am thankful that I can put my trust in the God who is ultimately in charge.