Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a contradiction … Well, almost!
Okay, so let me explain. Do you think there is such a thing as honest-to-goodness coincidences in life? Of course you do. Are they planned by God? Of course they are. Now wait a minute. Can the two go together? Of course! Let’s take a quick look at the apostle Paul in Acts chapter 17, verse 17. Listen to this. It says, “So he reasoned in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.”
Now, think about it: some of those window-shoppers who just happened to be meandering through the marketplace (that verse in Acts says it was all happenstance) some of those people, by chance in the marketplace (the day Paul was preaching there), they ended up becoming believers in Jesus. Yet the coincidence of their leisurely stroll, even the time they arrived in the market and were just walking along and examining cantaloupe and chatting with neighbors … all of it that day was no coincidence, because it says in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4 that those who believe in Christ have been chosen "before the creation of the world." Do you see? They were in the marketplace by chance, but that was the day God had ordained that they should hear the Gospel and open their hearts to Christ. How does chance and God’s sovereignty fit?
Is there a trick there? Well, it’s no trick at all. With God, all things are possible—even bona fide coincidences. God arranges for natural events to occur at specific times to further His ends; He’s always doing that. In other words, He plans coincidences. How or to what extent will be one fascinating feature of heaven! I mean, in my own life, when it comes to my diving accident, right? I mean me going to the beach that day with my sister shouldn’t have happened. I was supposed to play tennis that afternoon with a friend. But my friend didn’t show up. And so I happened to be at home when Kathy, on her way out the door to the beach, asked in passing if I wanted to join her. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I quickly ran and got my swimsuit and was in the car with her. The whole thing was by chance; my sister just happened to catch me when I was around. I hadn’t planned on going to the beach at all, but that day I did—and it was the day that changed my life forever. Funny thing, I used to regret that spur of the moment decision, but now? Looking back? Oh, I see God’s sovereign hand arranging every detail to further his ends. Now, as I look at the wonderful things God is doing through my wheelchair to help others, well, I now understand that for the Christian, nothing happens by chance, even in the midst of coincidences.
And like I said, how God does that is going to be a fascinating feature of heaven, but in the meantime it's no mistake that your car broke down and that that kindly stranger helped you. It's no accident that at lunchtime the same young man keeps coming by your office door hawking sandwiches. The people you meet, the neighbors you live near, the folks who sit in the pew in front of you are there by divine appointment. Why? So that you might fulfill God's purpose: to make Him real to everyone around you. It’s also mind-bogglingly complicated but, oh, so natural and God’s scheme of things. So today, thank the Lord for placing the people that he does in your life—people who seem to be there by chance. And ask the Lord to energize you to fulfill his purpose in each divine coincidence. Make Jesus real to everyone around you – and have fun doing that today in every "coincidence." And, hey, if this little word today has encouraged you, then share this on Facebook or drop us a line on my radio page today at joniandfriends.org. Again that’s joniandfriends.org.
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