Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. Unedited. The prompt this week is … Chance.
One might define “chance” as those events or circumstances that cannot be predicted, explained. or perhaps understood. They are those circumstances which just occur. Happenstance.
Zechariah comes to mind when I think of chance.
“Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.â€
(Luke 1:8-9, NASB)
“… he was chosen by lot…â€
It was common in those days for decisions to be made by casting lots. Today we might equate this as a roll of the dice, or chance. There were twenty four order of priests, who took turns serving in the Temple and their turn was determined by the casting of lots. There was a large number of priests and so this privilege most likely only occurred once, one time in a priest’s life.
So was this happenstance? Was Zechariah chosen by chance? Did he just happen to be “in the right place at the right time�
“The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.â€
(Proverbs 16:33, NASB)
Zechariah, chosen by lot, speaks to me of the very manner in which God works in each of our lives as well. Each day does not occur by chance. There are no coincidences in our lives.
God is sovereignly at work in the lives of His people today as well. Our lives are not randomly playing out for God is in control of every occurrence.
Every detail of our lives carefully planned,
not given to chance.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Today I may be joining …
Fresh cards from the deck are drawn
with more than little trepidation;
will I stay, or soon be gone
to my final destination?
I can’t really bear to look,
but I cannot know the odds
well enough for making book,
and I must rely on God’s
strength to walk me through the game,
no matter what my weak soul faces,
and to Him it’s all the same
should I draw the eights and aces,
for He knows what I must understand,
there’s no death in the Dead Man’s Hand.
It is comforting to remember that it is all in God’s hands and not really down to chance.
I’m so thankful He holds us in His hands, Joanne, and nothing is by chance. ~Lisa, FMF #7
Great post and thoughts Ms. Joanne. “Chance” is, in my sometimes not so humble opinion, evidence of God at work when you’re not aware. We aren’t lucky or unlucky as God’s children. He either wants to give us something or keep us from something because He has something better. Having that mindset keeps us less worldly in a small way I think. God’s blessings ma’am. Still, I don’t gamble (lottery tickets, cards, etc.) because: 1) I can’t control the odds, and 2) I don’t think God will bless us doing things that are ungodly. Still, when a windfall comes my way, when market prices go up for beef, etc., and when I find an extra $100 in a drawer that I didn’t know I had, I stop to thank God for His blessing.
J.D., as usual you give food for thought. I never thought of chance as being evidence of God at work when I am unaware. I guess I always thought of it as blessing. I think of most of my life as blessing from the Lord, as I am so aware I didn’t deserve any of His goodness. Your comment has made me realize anew just how blessed we truly are as His people. Thank you for stopping and sharing! You are a blessing I stumbled upon on social media and not by chance 🙂
How very true – God is sovereignly in control of our lives and He leaves nothing to chance
Just stopped by from FMF #12
Amen!
What looks like chance or the luck of the draw is still in God’s hands. Wonderful reminder!
Visiting from FMF#27