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!