There Are No Coincidences

One day I thought God didn’t care about me, and I almost died.

Okay, that might be a little melodramatic. But I almost got into a bad accident.

I was going through a rough time. God felt distant, like He merely observed what was happening to me, but didn’t care enough to do anything. I started to think that maybe He didn’t care.

I was in zombie mode getting ready for work. I had slept fine, but everything just seemed meaningless. I got in my car, and headed down my street. I reached the stop sign, and turned on my left directional. The guy coming from my right stopped, his directional indicating he wanted to turn onto my street. I waved to him, and eased up on the brake.

I looked just in time to see the car coming 50 mph from my left.

I hadn’t pulled into his lane yet. The car went by without any issue, the other guy turned, and I pulled out onto the street on my way to work. But I was shaken. And to this day I’m convinced God let that happen to jar me out of thinking He didn’t love me.

Because if He hadn’t reminded me to look, I would’ve caused an accident.

The car would’ve plowed right into the driver’s door of my car.

God saved my life that day.

We get so caught up in our lives, we often fail to see how God is working in them. His working is subtle, His voice quiet.

The Book of Esther was written without once mentioning Him by name. But even though His name is never used, you can see God working clearly through the story.

Esther is brought to the palace, and God moves the heart of Hegai (the king’s “custodian of the women”) to see her favorably (Esther 2:8-9).

Ahasuerus' (called Xerxes in some translations) heart is moved to choose Esther as his queen, when there were tons of pretty girls for him to choose from (Esther 2:15-18).

Mordecai is led to uncover the plot on Ahasuerus' life (Esther 2:21-23). But instead of being rewarded immediately for it, the whole thing is forgotten until later, when right before Haman comes to ask for Mordecai’s death, a sleepless night causes the king to examine the records (Esther 6).

Esther breaks Persian law in order to plead for her people (Esther 4:10-17), and God moves the king’s heart to spare her life (Esther 5:1-2).

Throughout the entire story, we can trace God’s hand working, setting up the pieces, arranging it all so that, even though His people have powerful enemies, an even more powerful God will save them.

And if we pay attention, we’ll notice God working today.

Let me tell you a few more things that have happened to me.

I love carrot cake, but because I’m required to eat gluten and dairy free, it’s practically impossible to find unless I make it myself. Practically, but not quite, because I went to a restaurant where not only did their carrot cake meet my dietary requirements, it met my preferences and also didn’t have raisins or nuts.

In the process of editing the sequel to my novel, I struggled with a part of the book that felt rushed, but didn’t know what was needed to complete that section. That night, as I lay in bed, I suddenly started thinking of a scene that not only solved my dilemma, but allowed another layer of depth and growth in my protagonist and her relationship with another main character.

My junior year of college, I applied to be a Resident Assistant for the next school year. I didn’t get the position. I applied for a different leadership position. I didn’t get that one either. I was disappointed and upset. But less than a week before returning to college for my senior year, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. My illness was severe enough that the entire school year I struggled to lead my small group and pass my classes to graduate.

Can you see God working? I’m sure you’ve had situations like that in your own life, where maybe those around you chalk it up to happy coincidence, or bad luck. There are no coincidences. There is no such thing as luck. Although the supernatural miracles may be less, although the days of the prophets are gone for now, God is still working through and in our lives. How could we ever think that God is merely a silent observer?

I doubt Esther was thrilled when the king’s soldiers took her to the palace. We know she was terrified to go before the king when he hadn’t called her. And yet God worked through these things to save the Jews of Persia from perishing.

Don’t fall into the trap I did, and think God doesn’t care. He does care, infinitely more than we can fathom. If you have something good happen, thank God for His kindness. And if you have something bad happen, ask God to help you to trust that He will work this out for good in your life (Romans 8:28)*.

*I fully admit, I struggle with this sometimes. There are some truly horrible things which happen to Christians, and I don’t even pretend to understand why God lets them happen. But God doesn’t ask us to understand. He asks us to trust Him.