Coincidence? Chance? Luck?...or could it be PROVIDENCE!

Coincidence? What's that?
I think of the Book of Ruth, when Ruth met Boaz, who would later become her kinsman Redeemer

...so she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.  Ruth 2:3 (ESV, emphasis added)

I also think of Jesus' divine appointment with the "woman at the well"...remember?  Jews never traveled through Samaria but would go around, they hated each other...Well, Jesus was with his disciples, and

...he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar--John 4:3-5   (KJV says "must needs go")

Chance?  It's nothing...chance doesn't exist if you're referring to some unseen force that can cause something to happen (unless you're simply referring to a "mathematical probability")
I think of Jonah in the ship, as the sailors cast lots to see who's fault the storm was, it fell on Jonah...

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah--Jonah 1:7 (ESV)

The lot is cast into the lap,but its every decision is from the Lord--Proverbs 16:33 (ESV)

Luck?  Doesn't exist.  My dad taught us since we were children not to say we were "lucky", or "that was luck", or anything like that.  He taught us that God is to be thanked and acknowledged for anything good that comes our way.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights  James 1:17 (ESV)

What we sometimes think is a coincidence is really just an act of God's Providence where he has chosen to remain anonymous!

How many times do we miss recognizing God's hand in what we consider "coincidences" or "chance" or "luck"?

And how many times do we miss giving Him the Glory due His name?  My dad also taught us from a young age that God is Sovereign in All Things, and to give Him Glory due His name for everything!

Consider the following excerpt from one of Pastor Stephen Davey's sermons from "Wisdom for the Heart":

A Widow and a Would-be King
Elisha: Living the Impossible Life – Part VIII
II Kings 8

To those who wait upon the Lord, there is no such thing as a coincidence...
When God does move, there are no coincidences...
Pastor Davey continues...I have read it put this way, “A coincidence is really a small miracle where God prefers to remain anonymous.”

We should be praying for the perception and insight to see God in the small miracles. The timing of a letter; a phone call; a conversation; something that happened; something that worked and something that did not; some interruption – these are God’s hands at work.

AMEN!  Will you recognize God's hand at work in your life, and give Him Glory?