Nothing Is Happenstance

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” - James 1:17 
 
 
Have you ever been talking about something with someone—maybe you’re out at dinner and you talk about the new golf clubs you want, or maybe it is a new set of silverware for your kitchen —then, that night you are scrolling through social media, or surfing the internet, and all of a sudden there is an ad with the exact thing you are looking for? It is amazing, it is just what you need, and it comes just hours after you talked about it. 
 
It can seem downright scary…you wonder, “how did it know?” If you are a believer, you can probably relate to this, not just with your smartphone or tablet, but with messages God gives you. Maybe He challenges you with something, something you might not be comfortable with. You ignore the first sign, but it just keeps popping up. 
 
First, your pastor preaches, and it feels like he is talking directly to you. Then on Monday, you read a daily devotional that you always read (from a different pastor), and SOMEHOW it is talking about the same thing. It seems like a coincidence, but then your kids tell you a story, and all you hear is the underlying message…it is the same message God has been putting in front of you. 
 
Is this a coincidence? Absolutely not! With God, there are no coincidences. It isn’t luck. Nothing is happenstance. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” 
 
Then we see in Proverbs 16:33 that, “man decides by throwing an object into the lap, but it is the Lord only who decides.” We might make decisions from time to time by flipping a coin or leaving it up to luck, but this doesn’t mean God isn’t pulling strings behind closed doors. God is orchestrating everything in your life. There is an intentional purpose to all of it! You just have to unpack what He wants you to see. 
 
Remember, with God, nothing is happenstance!