And what more shall I
say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about
David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who
shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames,
and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and
who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
These were all
commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would
they be made perfect. `Hebrews 11:32-34, 39-40
There are many things in life that people will say is left
up to chance. “Hopefully, we will get
lucky,” one would say. “There’s risk in
everything,” another might say. With so
much uncertainty in the world, why should we ever feel certain that things will
turn out in our favor? After all, what
goes up must come down, right?
Faith in God gives us certainty that all things happen with good
intention. Last week, I mentioned faith
as, “Assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1b) Years ago, I remember getting into an
accident and totaling the car I was just about to finish paying off. This was just after my wife and I had just
purchased a new home which we knew would tighten our budget. Then, my wife was laid off from work just
prior to our move. Did I mention that
this was the year of the Great Recession? I still remember vividly where we had nothing
left in our bank account, and I just looked to God crying, “I don’t know what else
you want me to do. I can’t do this on my
own.” Now some would believe that we
were victims of bad luck or unfortunate circumstances. Yet when we had nothing, we still had God. The very next day, a check came in the mail
covering all the upcoming expenses for the next week. That’s what faith will do. And what did God’s intention teach me? First, I learned dependency on God and surrendering all to Him. Second, I learned contentment appreciating what
God has blessed me with. When we
have faith in God, there is no luck or coincidence. There is God’s righteous intention and the chance
to gain wisdom and clarity of His purpose for our lives from it.
Acceptance of God’s will gives clarity in all situations. Things cease to affect us adversely, and
become opportunities to gain understanding of God’s plan for our lives. What circumstances have you been given that
need a God-centered perspective? How can
we have certainty of God’s goodness in uncertain times? My prayer is that we don’t buy into luck but
instead have certainty in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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