The Word - May 24, 2012 - COINCIDENCE OR PROVIDENCE

"God alone understands the way to wisdom; He knows where it is to be found, for He looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens. He decides how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall. He saw wisdom and evaluated it; set it in place and examined it thoroughly.(Job 28:23-27).

"God decides!" What do you think? Is there such a thing as coincidence in your life as a believer in Christ? Can you just happen to be in the right place at the right time? And what about the wrong place at the wrong time?

Or does God control and guide your destiny? Does that refer to even the people you meet and the places you go and the specific times involved?

The answer to the question is both simple and complex. It is simple because the straightforward one-answer is Providence. Circumstances in the believer's life, both good and bad don't just happen. They are controlled. The Bible teaches us that God is not only sovereign in controlling all things at all times, but is actually programming and guiding events in accordance with His eternal purposes.

Ephesians 1:11 says that "He works all things after the counsel of His will." (See also Psalm 33:11 and Isaiah 43:13). Nothing happens by pure chance or accident, and what appears to be merely fortunate or unfortunate circumstances is all involved in the outworking of God's plans.

"Hey, wait a minute," you say. "If God is in control, then what about all those bad things which involves injustice and even cruelty and suffering? What kind of control is this? And what about all the wrong decisions I have make, and when I out and out commit sin? Has He programmed me to even sin?

No Way! The Bible teaches that when we sin it is our own fault and we cannot pin the blame on God. (James 1:13-15). But even when we sin it doesn't mean that God has lost control of the situation. He many times uses the very circumstances in which WE failed to teach us a lesson and draw us back into fellowship with himself.

That finally takes us back to Romans 8:28 which says that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. So while the biblical answer to our original question is Providence and not coincidence or chance in any way, shape or form, we must acknowledge that our complete understanding is far from complete. (Read Psalms 131 and 139).