Are you lucky?

When something marvelous happens in your life do you catch yourself saying "luck was on my side" or "luck smiled down on me"? Have you ever wished that luck won’t run out on you?

The Bible states that “There is an appointed time for everything.” Ecclesiastes 3:1; Numbers 6:24-26

When good things happen, I don’t believe that it’s luck shining down on me. Luck doesn’t get me to the right place at the right time. It’s the who, Jesus Christ, who puts me in the appropriate place and for a specific reason. I also don’t believe that when bad things happen it’s because I’m unlucky. God is always with and for me, no matter what man may do to me. Romans 8:31

I have a memorable moment when I was in the fourth grade that some may look on and say that I was lucky. It was December in Michigan and I was walking home from school in a blizzard. A woman slid off the road, struck me with her vehicle, and I went flying into the air landing about forty yards from the road. It was a miracle that I was unharmed.

Having been told never to talk or ride with strangers, I picked up my belongings and walked home. I was too afraid to shed a tear and tell my parents, for fear of punishment that I did something wrong.

A few moments after I got home, the woman who hit me knocked on our front door. She told my mother what had happened. She had asked the other kids who I was and where I lived. I stood there, timid and afraid. My mom was upset with me, but primarily out of fear I was still hurt.

My father rushed home and took me to the hospital. X-rays confirmed I had no injuries, only a small scar on my right thigh. All I could think of was how special I was to have my father’s attention. Strange as it may seem, despite almost being taken out, it was a day that ended with me feeling loved and cared for.

It wouldn’t be for two years that I was able to grasp God’s protective hand on my life. A friend of mine and her sister, Denise and Deanna, were killed when they were struck by a vehicle while walking home from a puppet show.

I remember my dad giving me the news and we didn’t exchange many words. It was too much of a shock; even for him. It was just dad and me who went to the funeral. I’ll never forget walking down the aisle, staring towards the altar of the church and seeing two white caskets, side-by-side. The girls were the only daughters of seven kids and even the thought of that was too much to bear.

A tragedy like this never leaves you. I still don’t know why God would spare me and not them. Until I get to Heaven, I won't understand what good came out of this accident. Good luck had nothing to do with me and bad fortune had nothing to do with what happened to them. We just know that in both situations, God was ever-present.

Life doesn’t always make sense, but no matter what tragedies enter our lives, no detail is overlooked by God. God knows that our bodies are fragile, and we can know that God will work all things for good. Romans 8:28

The day will come when we will have clarity and see as clearly as God sees us. I Corinthians 13:12

“But we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7

I have no doubt that I am where I am today because God put me here. It’s not good fortune that there are readers of this blog outside the United States. People are logging into a stranger’s blog from the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Germany.

I don’t hold a lucky charm in my hand. God holds me in his and it is his divine love that guides and protects.

It’s hard to grasp how vast and unbelievably good God’s love is. Christ proved his love by dying on the cross for our sins. And for those of us who know God personally, we have the confidence that the Holy Spirit works all things for good. “Everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.” Romans 8:28 (PHILLIPS)

The next time you catch yourself saying "luck was on my side," notice how God intervened in the details of your life. Perhaps it’s time to change your focus and quit “rolling the dice” to see where they may fall. Give God the credit for his blessings and his protection.

Don’t subscribe to the world's view that you are lucky or that bad karma befell you. 

Soak in the most divine joy with the confidence that “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do…” Genesis 21:22b

Jesus is God. He is God with us and he is God for us. John 1:14; Romans 8:31

Some may think I scheduled this post for the middle of March to connect it to  St. Patrick’s Day, which is a day to look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and a sign of good luck. I did not. It’s a fun example how we can laugh with God and recognize he puts even the smallest of details in place. Photo by Pexels

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”  We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-18

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