LUCKY?
I
DON'T THINK SO!
As most of
you know, this past week has brought its share of trials, with Dave
going in for an emergency appendectomy and the girls and I taking up
his workload in the milk shed. The Lord has blessed greatly, but
there is something I felt compelled to write regarding all this.
It's this
thing called 'luck'. This week has seen many well-meaning people,
even Christians, I might add, say something to the effect, “Wasn't
he lucky? Wasn't it lucky the surgeons were in Katherine when they're
only there for 3 days in the month? Wasn't it lucky his appendix
didn't burst? Wasn't it lucky you were able to take care of his milk
run? Wasn't it lucky you were able to find drivers to make the
deliveries?” And so on and so forth.
Now, I don't
have to do any research to know that the word 'lucky' is NOT in the
Bible. You won't find it there, so don't bother to look!
It's not
even in God's vocabulary!
The
dictionary defines luck as: success or failure apparently brought by
chance rather than through one's actions. And the word lucky:
something that brings good fortune; someone that has good fortune or
something that results from good fortune and chance.
Now, I don't
know about you, but I sure am glad God doesn't leave anything to
chance. God is in control of each and every situation. He doesn't
need luck. He doesn't need good fortune. God doesn't leave things to
chance or luck.
There is
nothing 'coincidental' or 'lucky' about the way things worked out
this past week. God had His hand in every part. God orchestrated the
whole situation. God knew from the beginning, even before we were
ever born, that this particular trial would come on this particular
week and in these particular circumstances. And because of God's
almighty power and love, and the fact that He has proved Himself,
time and again, we have been able to be in perfect peace throughout
this whole ordeal.
I have been
blessed and encouraged by the promises in His word and by remembering
past victories and knowing that God would help us through this time
of trial and would mold and shape us to be more like Him, if we would
rest in Him and not resist His working in our lives.
In short,
luck has NOTHING to do with it! The world has their lucky rabbits
foot, their lucky horseshoe, their lucky wishbone, their lucky four
leaf clover, and for some Christians, they may even consider the
number 7 to be lucky!
As I said
before, luck has NOTHING to do with it! And neither does coincidence.
There are no coincidences in God's plan for our lives. He knows all
about us and He knows exactly what will come into our lives and He
even knows how we're going to handle it. God has a purpose for our
lives and there is no event in our lives that is not part of His
plan.
We don't need
to leave things to chance and just hope we'll get lucky. What we do
need to do is to put our trust in the Lord. Wholly. All of our trust.
All of us. Surrendered to Him and His perfect will. What better hands
can we be in than the creator of the universe, the Saviour of our
souls.
We need to
look beyond the raging storm and see God's hand. We need to search
for those little blessings, those little overlooked treasures that
God showers upon us. In the midst of the storm there is always a
rainbow. It may only be a little splash of colour, but it is colour
nonetheless. And we need to take the time to praise God for it. God
always works things out for our good if we love Him and serve Him. He
knows what's best for us and
He also knows how much we can bear.
Jeremiah
29:11
For I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,
thoughts
of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Romans
8:28
And we
know that all things work together
for good
to them that love God, to them
who are
the called according to his purpose.
Matthew
19:26
But Jesus
beheld them, and said unto them,
With men
this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
We
don't need the world's lucky charms or wishes of luck. We have a
hope. We have the Lord Jesus and we have peace through Him. I love
this verse in Isaiah.
Isaiah
26:3
Thou wilt
keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind
is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
See
that? Perfect peace. Not just peace, but perfect peace. And if
you
read the Greek word for perfect and for peace, they're both the same
word!
So
it means, peace, peace. Safety. Contentment. Tranquility. Quiet.
Soundness.
And
why does he have this peace? Because he trusts in the Lord.
What
a blessed promise!
God
has given us peace throughout this trial, and I pray that God
will
refine us and make us more like Him.
So, the next
time you're tempted to mention the word 'lucky', bite your tongue!
Zip it! And remember that God is in control, and there is no
such
thing as luck in God's perfect plan!
