Hello Everyone,
Science has studied random, chance, and coincidence for many years. Through countless experiments and the thinking of some of the greatest minds of the last century, science has concluded that there is no such thing as random. Even in the most complex arenas for random (i.e., the cosmos), we find order and patterns. There is order and design in even the most macro of theaters. It is the evidence of God's involvement even on the grandest scales.When Jesus sent out the Twelve on a mission trip, he instructed them on how to act, what to do, and what powers they had. Contained within these instructions is an insight into the extent of God's involvement in our lives:
Matthew 10:29-30 NIV
This level of intimacy is beyond our comprehension. No one knows us better than we know ourselves, yet even we are unaware when a single hair falls from our heads. Our God is entwined and entrenched in the fabric of our lives in ways that we are unaware of. He is the song, the music, the flavor, and the light. He is the thread that holds all things together.
What's more, He has a specific and detailed plan for our lives. He has endowed us with talents, gifts, skills, and uniqueness as tools to carry out His plan for us. There may be people who are similar to us, but there is no one like us. Each of us is special and unique in God's eyes.
There is no such thing as random, chance, or vacuous in the life of a Christian. Given God's sovereign involvement in all things, I suspect this truth also extends to the lives of unbelievers.
Our Paths Are Ordered By The Lord
The modern church has this saying:
The phrase is meant to portray the idea that we serve God from exactly where we are. We don't need to do this or that before we can serve God, which is entirely accurate. However, the maxim is New Age gobbledygook and projects much more than the intent. It oversimplifies our involvement:
- Theological accuracy: This statement does not fully align with traditional Christian doctrine about free will and God's permissive vs. perfect will.
- Potential for misuse: It might be used to justify complacency or discourage personal growth and responsibility.
- Oversimplification: It doesn't account for situations resulting from poor choices or harmful circumstances.
- Cross-cultural similarities: Similar concepts exist in other religions, suggesting it may not be based on Biblical teaching:
- Islam: "Allah is the best of planners" (Quran 3:54)
- Buddhism: The concept of "karma" and being present in the moment
We can be Christians and also be in the wrong place. We can be Christians and also be with the wrong people. We can be Christians and also be doing the wrong things. It happens all the time. The Bible says:
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths
. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
God can work through us wherever we are, but He also calls us to grow, make wise choices, and actively seek His will for our lives.
While God has a plan and purpose for us and wants us to depend on Him for everything, He also jealously longs for our company (James 4:5) and gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins because He loves us so much (John 3:16). These facts strongly suggest a high degree of free will and independence. They also suggest uniqueness and individuality.
If we are seeking Him and His will in all our ways, then our steps are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23). Given that God is more intimate with our lives than we are and that He is directing our paths:
Everything is part of God’s design, influence, discipline, or training.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com
We Miss Opportunities
When we eliminate coincidence, randomness, and chance from our lives and acknowledge that God is directly involved with the people we meet and the things that happen to us, the Christian life takes on new meaning. It means that everything that takes place in our lives, no matter how small or insignificant, was something put there by God.Everything that comes into our life is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to grow, bless, be blessed, learn, train, share the gospel, understand, gain insight, feed, be fed, empathize, or any of a myriad of interactions that can take place in the realm of humankind. When we think the event was a coincidence, random, or meaningless, we miss the opportunities present at that moment.
We often miss valuable opportunities when we fail to recognize God's involvement in every detail of our lives. Many unanswered prayers are actually fulfilled in these overlooked moments. How do I know? I've experienced it myself. By interacting with these seemingly random events, I’ve discovered answers to prayers I had lifted up. This means that if I had ignored those interactions, my prayers would have remained unanswered—not because God didn’t respond, but because I failed to see His hand at work.
If you are a regular reader of my blogs, you know that I often write about the importance of practicing the awareness of God in our lives. We need to live each day expecting God to be there because He is. We need to look for His hand in the things we are doing, watching, and interacting with.
We need to be careful how we expect God to show Himself. We should not put Him in a box or confine Him to responding in a specific way.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com
Final Thoughts
We often place limits on how we allow God to work in our lives—we all do it. By doing so, we risk missing out on the fullness of His work and inadvertently hindering the blessings He desires to bring into our lives. The God who spoke the universe into existence is the same God we call on to help with something as practical as fixing our car. The God who parted the Red Sea is the same God we turn to for guidance through the storms of our marriages, family, friends, work, and so forth. His power remains boundless, no matter the scale of our need.He is the impossible God – the God who specializes in the impossible. He is active in the significant and the insignificant. There is nothing too small for Him to be involved with or aware of. There is no Christian who is irrelevant or inconsequential to Him. To Him, there is no such thing as important or unimportant – we are all children of God, loved, cared for, and cherished by Him.
The existence of coincidence, randomness, or chance would indicate a capricious, uncaring God. The Bible NEVER depicts God in this way. Other religions often view their god in such a way, but not ours. Our God revealed His love for us from the beginning and sought after us with great tenacity even though we do not deserve His favor and attention.
We have rejected and ignored Him throughout history. We have stolen His glory and praise. We have repeatedly put our duties and responsibilities to Him on the back burner, putting everything before Him. We make Him the last thing and give Him whatever is left. We are ungrateful, lacking in mercy, unrepentant, arrogant, proud, and extremely foolish.
He calls out to us, "Come to me and I will give you rest."
Would forgiveness and mercy matter if our lives were subject to coincidence? I think not. Why would we need mercy if things were random and chance? We are not victims of undirected events, we are creatures designed to have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). We were built with a plan and purpose (Jeremiah 29:11).
Coincidence is not a message from the universe or a random, meaningless event. It always represents God's involvement in the intricacies of our lives. When you experience something seemingly random or trivial, STOP and look around you—God is right there, right now.
God Bless!
Mark
