HOW LUCKY CAN YA GET????
Ever feel like you’ve run out of luck? Yeah, me, too. So I decided to try and find some: I went to both local WalMart Supercenters a few weeks ago to see if they had any. I didn’t care if it came in a can, a box or in the impossible-to-open plastic container that puts kids in the emergency rooms at Christmas. I didn’t find any. Then I went to my favorite stores, starting with Lowe’s: nope, they were out. Sportsman’s Warehouse? You’d think a hunting/fishing store would definitely have some, right? No, again. Trader Bill’s? Atwood’s, Southerlands, Tractor Supply (ok, I’m getting desperate here). Nope. Even tried the Dollar Store – sure, I’d settle for just a dollar’s worth!
No luck to be found.
Have you ever heard the song: “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all”? That was written about me.
So, seeking wise council, I asked my multi-millionaire friend about luck in accumulating his fortune: he said his dad had made a plan for him to inherit the assets. Unfortunately, his dad passed away unexpectedly at age 65. So, there was a plan, but God chose the timing. Luck wasn’t involved.
Then I asked my jet pilot friend what he thought about luck in his career. He said there’s no luck once you’re in the air. Understood.
Finally, I went to the Bible (why is the Bible always in the “finally” position? But I digress…). The Bible doesn’t mention it at all, not even the subject of luck.
SO, what about Luck? Does it exist? Do some people have it and others don’t? Here’s some food for thought:
I recently was on Facebook and saw a post by a local fisherman who was describing an incident that had happened to him just the day before. He was flying down the lake in his high-powered boat when he slammed into something just below the surface. The force of the impact ripped the large motor from its mounting, but the starter cable, battery cable, and steering cables were still attached and jerked the still-running engine back into the boat. He said it all happened so fast he had had no time to react; he just remembers that the motor was on its side, and the spinning propeller was coming right toward him! It hit the pilot console where he was sitting, which killed the motor, leaving the propeller about a foot away. An incredible story, one that left me breathless.
The comments that followed were: “Lucky for you it hit the console!”, “WOW, Lady Luck was with you!”, “You’re lucky to be alive!”, and of course, “HOW LUCKY CAN YA GET?”
On the other hand, I was thinking: …luck? Are y’all crazy? God had him in HIS hands! He is one BLESSED dude!
Now those of you who know me know I couldn’t let the comments go by without throwing in my two cents, so I posted: “Man, you were definitely blessed to have come through that alive and unhurt. It makes me think that God still has plans for you.” Truthfully, it took me about three tries before what I originally typed was toned down a bit. I tend to be too blunt sometimes, and I recalled a verse that admonishes us to always be ready to tell about our Christian hope, “But to do this in a gentle and respectful way.” (1 Peter 3:15-16A.)
I went back to Facebook the next day to find the post and see if anyone had comments (or challenges) to what I had said, and maybe considered that Luck had nothing to do with it. The post was nowhere to be found. Maybe the fisherman had taken it down? Could my comment have made him angry, or possibly he just needed some time to consider if he was, indeed, Lucky?
Now, I really wasn’t shopping for Luck as I said at the beginning. I don’t believe in luck. Nor coincidences. I believe in “Incidences” – God Incidents: occasions where He has intervened. And I believe He does this all the time. I’m sure we can all think of an occasion when something happened in our life that we might have considered as “luck”, right? But now you know it was a BLESSING; that you realize He was involved? Do any of you think it was Luck that put your spouse in your life? That you have such wonderful kids? Luck that you found your home? What about the church you attend? Luck that made you a Christian? Was any of that by coincidence?
No. It’s all been according to His Plan for you and your purpose in life: to love Him and glorify Him in all we do. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
I have prayed for that fisherman, that he gives God the credit (glory) that’s due. I have also prayed for everyone that posted about his “luck” to reconsider their comment; that they saw what God had me post, and have realized that HE is probably the reason their friend is still here. And maybe, just maybe, one of them will seek out someone (maybe a Christian believer) for their thoughts about Luck. Wouldn’t that be cool? Wouldn’t that be just like God, to create an Incident where Jesus might be shared with them?
I don’t know where I heard it, but I recall a man saying: “As long as we’re here, HE has something for us to do.” It isn’t scriptural, but it is obviously a biblical principle. Every one of us is here for a purpose – God’s purpose. We need each day to pray for His leading, to follow His guidance, and be some part of bringing someone to Christ. HE has blessed us; we need to go and do likewise.
In His service, and yours,
Mike Jared
TCM board member
No Comments