A matter of luck

A matter of luck

"I have seen something under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.  Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them."  Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

When we leave God out of the picture, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, we are left with a persepective of believing that the things that happen in life are a result of good luck or bad luck.

You may be the fastest runner in the race but, by bad luck, someone in front of you stumbles causing you to fall and you don't win.  Or, by a stroke of good luck, the winds are at your back and your pace is quicker pushing you to claim first place.

The main question is, do things happen by chance?  And, if they do, where does that leave God?  Proverbs 16:33 tells us that, "The lot is cast into his lap, but every decision is from the Lord."   and Proverbs 18:18 similiarly states, "The lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders."  I can assure you no roll of the dice is by chance.  Nothing is outside of God's control and is not a matter of chance.

I think we can look at it in two ways, God's active will is something He causes to happen, and His passive will is something He allows to happen.  Either way, He is in control and has given us the promise that God works all things all things, good and bad, together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Isn't that awesome that we don't have to rely on luck?!!  We have a Creator that loves us so much He leaves nothing to chance.

Heavenly Father, thank you for watching over us.  When we are tempted to doubt you during the hard times, help us to remember that You are in control and You are working all things, good and bad, for our good.  In your name, Amen.