Can you believe I won! What luck!
Boy, I just lucked out with that great deal!
I sure am lucky that I didn’t get the flu this year!
Have you ever heard yourself saying something like that? As a Christian, I don’t believe anything happens by luck or by chance. In fact, I know it doesn’t.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)
Up until a few years ago, I flippantly threw around the word “luck.”
“Oh, it’s just my luck!” I would moan.
Or on the other side, “I’m so lucky!” I would say with excitement.
We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall. (Proverbs 16:33)
And it didn’t even dawn on me until I heard a particular sermon one Sunday. That’s when I realized that I really view “luck” along the same lines as “chance,” something that is based on coincidence. However, I’ve always said I don’t believe in coincidence. I’ve always said that I believe in Divine Intervention: a Creator who choreographs our circumstances and cares about my life. If I believe that God has a plan, then I don’t believe in any kind of luck, and I don’t believe anything happens by chance. So that was when I decided that maybe I needed to change my vocabulary! And I did.
I don’t know about you, but I hear the term “luck” most frequently around St Patrick’s Day. Be sure to see the real story of St Patrick’s Day history in my post “What is St Patrick’s Day“. I think you will find it is quite interesting that the history of St Patrick’s Day stemmed from a Christian tradition!
Moses said, “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD—glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)
If I think I’m lucky, or I think something in my life just coincidentally happened in a certain way, then I’m not giving God any credit for being who He says He is. I’m not acknowledging that He is present in a very real way in my life and in my everyday circumstances. He is just as real in the little things (like running into a friend who has been on my mind or snagging a great deal) and the big things (like walking through a family member’s chronic illness or marrying the right guy).
Luck is for people who don’t yet realize that God has a great and mighty plan for their lives.
What do you think? Do you believe in luck? Share your thoughts with the Faithful Provisions community.
No, I do not. I agree with you whole-heartedly. I try never to say that I am lucky but rather that I am BLESSED because that is the truth. God’s blessings are everywhere showering down on us, especially to those who have a relationship with His Son. Thank you for you testimony, Kelly.
Linda, you are so right! His blessings are everywhere if we can just open our eyes and realize it is all Him. 🙂
I also don’t believe in luck. I believe in fate which comes from the Lord in the form of blessings. I don’t have any “lucky” rabbit’s feet or any other silly items that I believe will help me have
“favor”. I just pray that God will watch over me and bless me in the way that He sees fit. If God wants me to have something and it is His will then He will provide a way.
hi there,
love that verse in proverbs 16! also, when our Lord spoke to the multitudes the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, He repeatedly used the word “blessed.” the amplified Bible version gives this understanding for “blessed”: happy…to be envied…and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions.
truly it is only when we are trusting, knowing that our God is sovereign, He is faithful, and He always provides that we can say/know/confess/proclaim ‘i am blessed.’ thanks, kelly, for not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ! God bless you. <3
Coleen – Thank you! Yes, but isn’t the word “blessed” a word that makes you just want to draw even closer to God? I love it. 🙂
hi there,
agreed! that’s where i want to be…daily drawn closer to Him Who loves me so! praising Him for His unspeakable goodness to me! <3
I agree with you Kelly! I have wanted to put this perspective into words for so long but haven’t took the time to dig deeper so thank you for sharing! Now I can have an explaination when needed! 🙂 The truth of God is powerful indeed…
Barbara – Truth be told, you will see what exactly prompted me to write this tomorrow! I love how God works out His Will in every single detail.
Thank you for sharing this biblical truth. My husband lost his job last year; then our son in law was involved in car accident (not his fault) in one of our cars. The insurance company totaled our car and gave us more than we had paid for it, enough to buy another car and put several thousand dollars in the bank! Luck? I don’t believe so. God’s provision!! Your right!!
Wow, I just had this coversation today with my 9 year old daughter. Today in the beautiful weather she picked several 4 leaf clovers. She came inside and asked if she could ironthem and adhere them them on small cards ito make bookmarksfor her friends at school. We had the conversation about luck and blessings. I was thinking it would be nice to find a scripture that supported blessings rather than luck. Thanks for sharing the scripture. We’ll make these up this week.
Christi – I love how God does that, meets us right where we are! But it is even better when our kiddos get to see it too. 🙂
This is such a great article! I love the scriptures you included. I enter sweepstakes as a hobby and people tell me all the time how lucky I am but my hubby corrects them and says “its not luck its because we pray about and for these wins.” We are military so every extra bit that we can bring into the household and in turn bless others is a blessing! I’m not saying we win everything we enter but its wonderful because when we do win something it is always at the right time to meet a need in our life or we are able to give it to someone else and meet a need they have. My hubby who is stationed overseas was not going to come home for a midtour because it was going to be 2grand for a plane ticket. He happened to be in the office one day asking a question and was asked if he wanted to go to California for some training. They then told him to go ahead and take his midtour after his training. Some people tried to call it luck but I quickly shot that down and said ohh no it was ALL the LORD putting him in the right place at the right time. We only had to pay $400 for a plane ticket. Coincidence? I think not. God’s blessing? You betcha 😉
I do not agree with you about the word blessed. I know many good Christin families, who have had terrible things happen to them. Are they “UNblessed”? My 21 month old son died last year from cancer – are we not blessed because we didn’t get a healing? No, we were just unlucky! He had a very aggressive cancer – when we found out about it, he was just 8 months old. He “should” have done well, and beaten it. But he didn’t. 4 other children that we met during his treatment, also died. Many other children have done very well and are now in remission. Are they “blessed”? no, they are lucky – lucky that the treatment worked for them
This comment is for Nancy. First, let me give my condolences on the loss of your son. My wife and I recently experienced the loss of our newborn son. He fought for 28 days and had multiple heart surgeries, but after 28 days, he finished his purpose. I know that it would appear that someone who is “making it” through remission or successful surgeries would seem to have luck on his side, and someone who fights for 21 months (or 28 days) who passes away would seem unlucky. From a grieving parent to a grieving parent, we were blessed to have Justice for 28 days. We were blessed to receive the love and support that we did for that period of time and the time that followed. We are blessed because God used our situation to draw people closer to Himself. Your comment about seeing “many good Christian families” having terrible things happen to them stuck out to me. There is a verse in Scripture that talks about rain falling on the just and the unjust. Bad things are going to happen to those who follow Christ and those who don’t. If I can encourage you in any way, don’t look at your son’s death as unlucky, but look at his life as a blessing. Unfortunately, all who live must die–unless Christ returns before. Our doctors and nurses fought hard to keep Justice with us, but in the end, he had served his purpose. Just as my wife, my 5-year-old, and I have had to search out and pray through, ask yourself and God this: “What was my son’s purpose?” And then look around. Romans 8:28 sums it up, but the way to not read it is that everything that happens to us will be good. God will work it out to the good. Was our 5-year-old son having 2 open heart surgeries with more in the future good? No. Was our 28-day-son dying from heart complications good? No. But I can assure you, God is working and will work those situations out to be good.
A few weeks ago I was able to baptize a young man that embraced Jesus as his forgiver and leader at Justice’s memorial service. There was no luck involved in that, but all blessing. Your son did not live 21 months out of luck and then pass away because of unluck. His 21 months was a blessing, and you have the opportunity before you to share that blessing with people around you. Do not let satan rob you of that blessing! Know that my family will be praying for your family. There is hope. There is life. There is a God who blesses. There is an empty tomb and an occupied throne in Heaven that guarantee it.
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You’re an incredible soul.
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