There is a story in the Old Testament about the Ark of the Covenant. It had been taken from the Israelites, by the Philistines, who had had it for seven miserable months. I say miserable because God did not take this act lightly. He brought plagues upon them and their land, and because of this they had passed it back and forth from city to city trying to get rid of the curse, and all five kings and their cities suffered the same consequences. In addition to this, wars were being fought and lost one after another by the Israelites, because the Ark was absent, which represented the presence of the One True, Living God. Finally, the Philistine rulers called for their priests and diviners to figure out what they needed to do with piece of furniture that had proven to be their Achilles heel. They had had enough! They were advised to get it back to where it belonged and to send an offering to the Lord along with it, so that the land could be free of the plagues of mice that were upon them, and so that they could be healed in body as well.
The story is found in 1 Samuel 6. A portion of it says, “Now therefore, make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart. And take the ark of the Lord and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, so that it may go. And see, if it goes up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us. And the men did so…”
“And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord. And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord. …it was even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the Lord: which stone remains unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.”
Though some may call this just happenstance. Even the Philistines stated that if the kine do not take it to where it is supposed to go, then this was all just a coincidence; however, if they do go to the right place, which they did, then it is for sure the hand of God, which we describe in one word today, which is ‘miracle’.
According to Mirriam-Websters Dictionary the word happenstance means, a circumstance especially that is due to chance, the word happens combined with circumstance, first seen in literature in 1857. Synonyms could be accident, co-occurrence, coincidence, incident, chance happening, or juncture. The word coincidence is defined as, the occurrence or existence of several things at once, the act or condition of coinciding, correspondence, the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection. Synonyms could be concurrence, coexistence, synchrony, contemporaneousness, or simultaneousness. It was borrowed from Medieval Latin coincidentia, derivative of coincident-, coincidens, present participle of coincidere “to agree in nature, coincide”. It has been seen in writings dating back to 1605.
The word miracle means: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs, such as in the healing miracles described in the Gospels, an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment. Christian Science: a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly at the fulfillment of spiritual law. Synonyms could bephenomenon, portent, sensation, splendor, wonder, or marvel. The first known use of the word miracle in literature was in the 12th century.
We see the all wise, yet wayward King Solomon, coming to his senses at the end of his life saying in Ecclesiastes 9:11,“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all.” He realized that though he was trying to beat time, he found in the end that he had squandered his most valuable commodity. We have all been given the same amount of time on this earth, and the laws of nature that were set into motion at creation, govern our lives as humans. Even Jesus mentioned in Matthew 5:45, “…for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” However, Jesus, the Miracle worker himself, knew that if there was a need, and God would receive glory from it, the miraculous was the order of the day.
We live our lives from day to day just taking things as they come, just as happenstance or coincidence, but what we must remind ourselves of as Christians, is that the hand of God is what governs us. When we have his Spirit, occurrences in our lives are not just another ordinary incident or happening. Psalm 37:23 reminds us, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way.” And Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart devises his way: but the Lord directs his steps.” If we will allow Him, God he will be intricately involved in our lives. Yet, one thing that was always present in the miracles of Jesus, was that the Almighty received the glory. If we cease to see God’s hand in our lives and begin believing things are just happenstance, or coincidences, or that we are running our own affairs, God will step back and allow us to do just that. Solomon realized what a disaster that was, but it was too late in his life to make any meaningful change.
There is a short story that I read recently in a book my mother had, called Joy Breaks, that I would like to share. The story was called, ‘This is not what I had in mind.’ by Lucy Swindoll.
One of the most delightful weekends I had spent since moving to California six months before was nearing an end as two teenage girls approached me while I was counting out my vitamins. “What are all these pills for?” one of them asked. “Well,” I explained, “These two are for beautiful eyes, this one is for willowy legs, that little one is for pearly, white teeth…” As I was waxing on, the other girl interrupted me with, “Haven’t been taking them long, have you?” What a comeback! This girl was one sharp cookie. In fact, all twelve of them were.
The Pioneer Girl retreat had been filled with laughter and hilarity, as well as sweet communion and meaningful interaction. And, to think… I almost missed it.
You see, Marilyn had signed me up to join her in teaching a class of Pioneer Girls on Wednesday nights at our church in Fullerton, California. I was not thrilled. I had done this to people but had never had it done to me. I remember signing up a fellow employee at Mobil Oil to play on the baseball team. I even volunteered her to be captain of the team, just to hear her try to worm out of it when the team captain phoned her. But somehow, I had escaped this type of unsolicited commitment from my friends, until Marilyn came along.
Now, here I was, a teacher to these young teenage girls, who would look to me for spiritual and emotional guidance on Wednesday evenings. This was the last thing in life I wanted to do. I resisted mightily:
- I’m not qualified. I’ve never taught this kind of class before.
- I’ve got better things to do with my time, like watch the Wednesday night TV line up.
- I’m too tired after working all day.
- The pay’s too low (after all, I was volunteering).
I could come up with at least ninety-eight reasons why I didn’t want to do this. But Marilyn had put my name on the dotted line to teach for a year, no less! I could have died, right after killing her.
But, as is always the case, God knew what I could not have known: that I needed this experience. I needed the opportunity to prepare for the Bible studies I would teach those young girls. I found that what I was teaching them was rubbing off on me. I got to know them, their parents, and their siblings. Before I knew it, I was investing in their futures as they talked about their schoolwork, their boyfriends, their problems, their fears… on and on and on. If I listened, they would talk. About everything. And, as I spent those hours with Marilyn (early in our own relationship), I came to see what a fun, joyful, dear friend she was going to be.
God did several meaningful things in my life during that year, and I’m so glad I taught that class despite my initial resistance.
What are you resisting? Has God been nudging you into action and you’ve either said no repeatedly, or well, maybe so weakly that no one could hear it? I can tell you from my own experience, the very thing we say no to just might be God’s blessing in disguise. He wants to bless us; He wants to mature us; He wants to get us out of our comfort zone. The last thing you want to do might just be the best thing that ever happened to you. It might even be fun. It may not be happenstance; it may just be your miracle.
“She ends with this prayer: how often I resist your bidding, Lord, and miss opportunities to enjoy your gifts. Because of my fear and insecurity, I hesitate; I look within instead of looking to you. Show me your agenda for today, God, and give me the grace and boldness to follow it. Surprise me with your wisdom and delight. Amen.”
Though we cannot see the hand of God physically, 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” If you would stop and ponder your life for a moment as Lucy Swindoll did in this short story on this occasion, you would be able to pinpoint time after time where miracles happened in your life, not just coincidences. In fact, I make this statement often, “Miracles are happening to us and all around us daily.” If we look at a single day of our life, we can see that we did not get into an accident, we did not get sick, we have food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and the list is endless. We must allow God to take the blinders from our eyes and walk out of the fog we are living in, to appreciate these miracles, and live with thanksgiving and gratefulness. In Nehemiah 8:10 he gives the people of God, the message that God said to speak after the Law of the Lord was found and read to them. “Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” God wants us to live in victory, with the realization that we need Him, because He loves to bless us. He is a ‘Good, good, Father,’ as the song by Chris Tomlin says. Psalm 91:11says, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” I will venture to say, at least for me, I would not be able to make it without the Lord.
While living in Indiana, pastoring a church there, we lived in the parsonage that was next door to the church. It was small but adequate. We raised our four daughters there and made many fond memories along the way. My husband and I were discussing the ramifications of what would happen to the girls and I if something happened to him. Morbid, yes, but a real conversation to be had. If a pastor passes away, the church will have to elect a new one, thus the family of the former pastor would have to leave the premises for the newly elected one to have the convenience of using the facilities, which were meant for him and his family. Rightfully so, this is par for the course. Therefore, we decided to buy a home in our name to circumvent us becoming homeless. We purchased a small “fixer upper,” and began working diligently on it, along with the barn and the property to make it into a home. It was quite a project. Along with mountains of junk that we had to haul off, there was a dilapidated shed that we knew would have to come down. So, diversifying to get the job done quicker, a couple of my girls began taking the walls down inside the shed. After a few hours of work, I heard a crackling sound, and shouted from the outside, for the girls to get out pronto! Well, they both ran for the door and our eldest daughter made it out before the shed began to collapse on top of our third child, much to my horror and dismay.
The others came running and hollering from the other side of the property only to see the fallen shed. My husband, with adrenaline pumping, endeavored to lift the three layered, shingled roof off our daughter Claudia, but of course to no avail. But what we did not know immediately was that the hand of God had broken the floor joists under Claudia, allowing her space to land safely under the rubble. I looked down under the rubble desperately trying to find a sign of life, and heard her low, ‘matter of fact,’ voice say, “Mom, I didn’t break my glasses.” That is a story within a story, but those words were music to my ears. Not because of the glasses, but because she was alive and well. My husband then began the arduous process of plundering through the roof and making a hole in the shingles big enough for her to crawl out of, right above the spot where we were hearing her voice. Happenstance, coincidence, I think not. She is alive today because of the mighty hand of God upon us, which we know as a miracle. A miracle is something that we cannot control in the physical realm, but it happens anyway through Supernatural power. She did not have a scratch or bruise on her body, nor any broken bones! With that, the task was accomplished, and we could then set fire to the shed, and she was so proud of her achievement. She is still very task-oriented to this day.
We live our lives by saying that we believe but our actions tell a vastly different story. Often the complete opposite. We ask God to protect us as we travel, then we are surprised when a deer decides to turn around and go back into the woods instead of running out in front of us. When our GPS takes us out of the way five or ten minutes, we are angry, and irritated because of the minor inconvenience to our schedule, not realizing that it could have been the Lord protecting us from a wreck up ahead. Why are we as believers, so surprised? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” We ask for healing, yet we are literally floored when it happens! To the point of our eyes bugging out and our mouths dropping to the floor. In Matthew 7:7-8 Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Thanksgiving and praise are what He desires from us, which are recognition for the mighty acts he is performing in our lives daily. They are not just happenstance moments or coincidences.
Another example of our lack of faith is when we ask God for a job. Just because we have had to apply for multiple positions and keep getting turned down, we think that God did not hear our prayers. Or the only one that offers us the job is the one we did not want. We must remember that God sees the entire panoramic view of our lives. No, he is not going to disclose it all to us, because we are not God and we could not handle the information; however, he lets us know on a ‘need to know basis’, the where, what, when, how, and why’s of our life. He orders our steps. He sees the company that may be closing a couple of months down the road, which would have left us high and dry without a job again. He sees the team that we would have been working with versus the team you have now. There is no way to name every possible scenario, but He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent, and as such we must trust Him and give him acknowledgement.
The song by Nicole C. Mullen, called ‘My Redeemer,’ has such great lyrics. It says, “Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? And who told the ocean you can only come this far? And who showed the moon where to hide ’til evening? Whose words alone can catch a falling star? The very same God that spins things in orbit, Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak. And the same gentle hands that hold me when I’m broken, they conquered death to bring me victory. Well, I know my Redeemer lives, I know my Redeemer lives. All of creation testifies, This life within me cries. I know my Redeemer lives.” This song acknowledges that the Creation, nor current events in our lives, are happenstances nor coincidences, but are supernatural and miraculous.
Everyone who has ever had a child, ninety-nine point nine, nine, nine, times knows that it takes a man and a woman to accomplish this. There must be a seed and there must be participation and germination of that seed. However, from this point on in the gestation process, there is nothing the man or woman can really do except for taking care of themselves, mainly the mother, to have a healthy environment for the child to grow and develop in. Her body provides nutrients and oxygen, but there is nothing in which she can participate. The process has been put into motion, and loving placed into the hand of the Creator.
However, when the mother and child are separated at birth, the child will no longer be receiving its food, oxygen, or blood from the mother. Though they have an emotional bond, they become two entities. Yet the question that bodes at that moment is, is the child alive? Doctors and nurses have come up with a very ‘medical’ procedure to assess this, which is by holding them upside down and smacking the little baby on the bum to get an affirmative or negative answer. We give doctors credit where credit is due, however, this is not within their power or control. The breath of life is not happenstance nor coincidence, but supernatural and miraculous. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” This was not a onetime deal, but God has been giving us life ever since. Job said in Job 1:21, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
I know life is not just about happenstance because I speak from an experience that I would never wish upon anyone else, though I know many have had to face this. It was the year 1985 when my husband and I were pregnant with our first child. We took all the initial steps that we could, which brought us to Christmas day, December 25, 1985. I was taking care of myself to give the baby a healthy environment to grow and develop in, and things were moving along well. Or so we thought. To make a long, incredibly sad story short, I went into labor at twenty-four months of gestation. Things went so wrong from the point where we called the doctor and were advised to go to the emergency room. Firstly, because of panic we arrived at the wrong hospital, then at the correct one, they wanted us to fill out paperwork before anything else, even sitting down. I made my way quickly to the restroom, feeling like I had to throw up, and as soon as I reached the stall, and indeed threw up, my water broke, causing placental abruption. I will not go through the entire story, but I indeed gave birth to a baby that day, whom we named Michal. She was beautiful with all her fingers and toes, eyes and ears, arms and legs, and sweet, little tummy, weighing in at a little over a pound. However, despite everything we did right, there was one important thing that was missing. The breath of life. She was what the medical field simply calls ‘stillborn.’ The breath of life is a supernatural and miraculous gift to us not happenstance or coincidence. God chose to not give her life that day but take her to a resting place.
As we read in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “…unto the glory of God by us.” I stand by my statement despite or because of, personal testimonies in our lives, that, “There are miracles happening all around us every day!” We should not question God but give Him praise for all things and in all things. He sees the full picture and knows what the ramifications of all possible outcomes to every scenario will be before they even happen. We must allow Him to be Sovereign and be the Lord of our lives. And if we do, Philippians 4:6 -7 lets us know, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”