Is what just happened, God or coincidence
God is always working uphill. He divides seas or does smaller but just as amazing things in our lives, such as putting us in the right place at the right time. Then everyone exclaims, “What a wonderful coincidence!” That’s gotta hurt.
We have all prayed feeling like our requests are falling on deaf ears. We worry and fret because an answer is not immediate or obvious. God normally does not make His presence obvious, but then something happens!
Worry, or walk in faith trusting God
The list of things to worry about is endless. Ask my husband and he will expound on the myriad of things I have worried about. It’s a joke in our house. I’ll hear of some rare or obscure phenomena and exclaim, “Oh, something new to worry about!”
Even though I know worry is wasted energy it’s so easy to slip into the habit because the opposite behavior requires a little more effort. Faith is always harder to put your finger on or stick to. In fact it can sound a little Pollyannaish or trite – just have faith.
We all need a little sensitivity training to become sensitized to God’s presence in our lives, so we can worry less and trust more. Often, God is behind the scenes in our life but we fail to see it and are indifferent to how much care is lavished upon us. It’s not that God will magically solve all our problems if we just have more faith; but if we become sensitive to the way God works we will become aware of solutions and answers.
Life Re-design
Last October I was doing a little “Life Redesign” work. I had all these ideas of things I wanted to do and I realized that in order to accomplish them I would need to live with health for a very long time. I am, if nothing else, ambitious.
I made goals and prayed about them not considering what the result would be. Perhaps God took it me more seriously than I did. Mmm… now there’s a thought, He believed in my prayer more than I did.
Then one day, I received a call from a young friend who approached me a little uncertainly and asked if I would be offended if he sent me a book, titled “the Metabolic Plan.” I gratefully received the book, still not quite putting two and two together. This is why I say we need sensitivity training.
The book like many books arrived and joined the pile of interesting reads, waiting to be read. Our Heavenly Parent must have been so frustrated. It’s a good thing that God is determined. Time went by and I still didn’t read it, oblivious to God’s presence and support. Weeks went by and then by “coincidence”, a second book came through another young friend called, “Younger Next Year.”
This time I paid more attention and realized I had all these plans and God was telling me, “I want you to be able to do all these things and I’ll definitely help but it’s going to require a little lifestyle change.” It’s that whole portion of responsibility thing.
God will guide our lives but we have to learn how to follow His lead. We have to work together with God. Of course His part is larger than ours. It’s like the story of the elephant and mouse that crossed the rope bridge together. When they got to the other side, the mouse said, “We sure made that bridge bounce didn’t we?”
How can I figure out what’s my part and what’s God’s part?
The Divine Principle describes a 95/5% relationship between God and man with the caveat that our seemingly small 5% involves 100% of our effort, so we don’t get off lightly after all. Developing a relationship with God requires that we are “all in.” The Bible provides the details behind the numbers.
Your part: openness, desire to ask and follow. God’s part: guidance and provision Reference: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God….. and it will be given unto him. James 1:5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right path. Proverbs 3:5-6 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10 Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things (you need) will be added unto you. Mathew 6:6 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He will sustain you. Psalm 55:22
We sometimes assume that God is controlling and we react against that, complaining about our circumstances or lack of solutions. But God is the opposite of controlling. He waits for us to ask, He does not impose Himself on us unless we invite Him in. God is above all else patient.
I reflected that God has more faith in me than I in Him. He/She is there all the time, working behind the scenes. He brings people and circumstances together to make things happen, sometimes without anyone knowing God is involved. We are often frustrated with God because He is invisible but I am sure that God is equally frustrated that we cannot perceive Him in our lives. We usually end up only perceiving God in the face of very dramatic events, but God is with us in the small things if we choose to see.
Divine Appointments
Sometimes we have the idea that God cannot lead us unless we are keenly aware that He is directing us. In actual fact, most of God’s guidance occurs when we are not even conscious of it. He arranges the circumstances but it’s not until we take another look at where we’ve been that we realize God has indeed been guiding us.
Kent Crocket in the “Sure Cure for Worry” describes a Divine appointment as a scenario where God leads someone, who usually does not know he or she is being led. They are led to a certain place, in His perfect timing, to accomplish a specific purpose. These Heavenly arrangements are usually seen when:
1. The person or persons are typically not aware that God is guiding them
2. Two people’s paths cross at a certain point
3. The timing is perfect for the two to meet
4. The meeting is for a Divine purpose and usually changes a person’s destiny
Perhaps you recognize these types of coincidences in your life. The guidance is so subtle you may not even recognize it in the moment.
In Proverbs 16:9 it says, “The mind plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.” In Acts 7:23 it documents that when Moses was approaching forty, “It entered into his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.” Was it just a thought entering his mind or was our Heavenly Parent speaking to him?
It was a Divine appointment for sure. God needed Moses to go back and become the leader of the Israelites. We see this throughout the Bible but it’s also still happening today
Looking back is not the only way to see God working
Remember Proverbs 3: 5-6 where God tells us that if we rely on God he will guide us on the path – well, that’s not just a nice idea! Be open to where God may want to lead you. Perhaps it’s into unknown territory. That’s exactly what happened to Abraham.
God told Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham (who by the way is the Father of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike), to leave his home. Now the instructions were pretty vague. Perhaps he had a niggling feeling or a half-remembered dream. However it was, God nudged him, and Abraham to his credit responded.
In Hebrews 11:18 we are told, “He went out not knowing where he was going.”
For Abraham the unknown territory turned out to be the place of God’s blessing and so it may be for you too. Jump on the elephant, trust in those Divine Appointments and see how God will guide your steps so that you can create a life you love. When you work together with God everything falls into place by divine plan, even if it seems like coincidence.
