Coincidence, luck, or the goodness and sovereignty of God?
A month ago, if I would’ve ran into the lady at my doctor’s office, that just so happened to have done ministry in the exact location I’m going too, I would’ve called it a neat coincidence.
A month ago, if my nana would’ve given me a microwave that had been sitting in her storage for 5 years, I would’ve said thank you and moved on.
A month ago, if I would’ve found out that my RA went to the same country, doing the same thing I will be doing, I would’ve called it chance.
A month ago, I didn’t have the eyes to see the Lord’s sovereignty.
But since then, something’s changed. My mom kept calling things a blessing and I always replied with a “oh yeah, definitely” and kept going, but since then the Lord has changed my perspective. My doubt has been replaced with awe of what my God is capable of.
Since then:
My nana has blessed me with a microwave for my dorm room. I needed one and we were planning to go buy one soon. One night my mom was talking to my nana about everything we still needed to get and the next day my nana found a microwave in her storage barn that had been sitting there for 5-6 years, and instead of using it or selling it, she offered it to me. God’s sovereignty.
At my most recent post-op appointment for my surgery, I brought up my trip to my doctor. He began telling me about one of the nurses that worked there; her husband is from Thailand and they go down there all the time to visit his family, but they also do mission work. At the end of my appointment, I found her and introduced myself and we began talking about my trip and her time in Thailand. While we were talking, she began to reassure some of the mom’s fears she had no idea about. The Lord used her to reassure some of my own doubt and to speak so many words of encouragement about this trip I’ve been called too. Her and her husband have done ministry in the same town I will be going too, and have even seen and worked alongside a team from the World Race while they were there!! She gave me her contact information, and told me she would be praying for my trip. God’s sovereignty.
I moved into college 4 days ago, and met my RA last night. She is the sweetest person ever and we have the same major and even the same area we want to focus on after school. My roommate and I were talking to her tonight and we started asking her questions about being an RA, which led to us asking her about training and when she moved in and so on and so forth. She began to tell us about when she moved in and added that she went to Thailand this summer. I asked the obvious question’s: why she went, where she went, how long she was there for and so on and so forth. She was there for a mission trip to teach the Thai people English; which in case you didn’t know, is one of my ministry opportunities!! What’s crazy is, my roommate and I weren’t originally assigned to this room. In fact, we were in a completely different building, a different floor, and a door type of room: a room that we didn’t want. After some emails we got switched to the room we’re in now, on the floor we’re on now, with this amazing, God-sent, RA. God’s sovereignty.
You see, if my nana hadn’t of bought the, at the time, useless microwave she didn’t need, it wouldn’t of been sitting there waiting for her to find it at the exact time of my need. If that dental hygienist had not heard about Dr. Bolding and hadn’t decided to tell us about him, I wouldn’t of met Diane. If I hadn’t of hated the college I had my mind set on for years and instead gone to my local college, I wouldn’t of met Anna.
My point is: if we can’t see the blessing of a microwave and praise God for the microwaves, who’s to say we’ll praise Him for the refrigerators? If I can’t praise my God for the physical weakness of walking the endless flights of stairs to the 4th floor just to run into Anna, who’s to say I’ll praise Him when a complete miracle happens and I get my college paid for?
My God is a good God, in the big and the little. He’s a good God in the highs and the lows. He’s a God who goes before us and plans each and every microwave, thought and person just where they need to be for us to recognize His goodness and His sovereignty.
Look for the microwaves, refrigerators, the Anna’s and Diane’s. Notice the blessing and the sovereignty of God that made it exactly what you needed when you needed it. That, my awesome friends, is something only the God of the universe, the God of you and me, could orchestrate and make it so messy and beautiful all at the same time.
There is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence, but there is Our God.
