No coincidences, becoming like Jesus, and intercession

For those who doubt that God has a sense of humor, read the last line of yesterday’s post and then read this opening from today’s devotional reading by Oswald Chambers: “The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance.”

As I laughed and kept reading, again God surprised me. My hubby and I are in a situation where we need to intercede for our daughter. Chambers says, “God is bringing you into places and among people and into conditions in order that the intercession of the Spirit in you may take a particular line.”

Lest I ramble on about the amazing and often amusing ‘coincidences’ of God, this one takes a more serious note in the light of today’s Scripture:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

These verses were impressed upon me as a baby Christian. God made it clear that all that happens to me is designed by Him to shape me into the image of Jesus Christ. Not only is that a lofty and marvelous goal, it makes sense of life. When God says “all things” He means just that. The good, the bad, the mysterious, and everything else are His opportunities for that purpose.

Chambers says that this ‘everything’ includes situations in the lives of those around me. God brings me into relationships and experiences with others for the same reason. He intends that I am like Christ to the people who need Him. His love and grace may be shown in words, prayers, or actions, yet I need the discernment of the Holy Spirit to know what I must do. Do I pray and say nothing? Do I speak? Do I speak softly, or with louder enthusiasm? Am I to be stern as Jesus sometimes is, or do I use humor as God often does?

Chambers ends with a thought-provoking word: “Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, but the Holy Ghost makes intercession in our particular lives, without which intercession someone will be impoverished.”

While I might not cause someone to be impoverished (not everything is my fault), God has give me the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that I might be to others an encouragement in their journey, a refreshing place in their struggles.

Today’s Word and Chambers words are spot on what I needed to hear. Yeah, God.

Notes: 

Thankfully, God used today’s circumstances for His purposes in our lives.

He will also influence USA voters tomorrow to put in place the person He wants for the purposes He plans. I’m Canadian so cannot vote in the US, but I do urge Americans to listen for the Lord’s leading and vote. Above all, pray for those in leadership. God listens and He also can turn like a river the hearts of kings!

Heart knowledge knows no coincidences

The kingdom of God arrived with the incarnation of the Son of God. It was not evident to many, particularly those who rejected Jesus. However, with the progression of time those who believe in Jesus see more and more evidence of His rule as King. When Jesus returns, it will become clear to everyone.

Faith in Christ is something like that too. It starts out when He comes into a person’s life and becomes more evident with spiritual maturity and with a deeper understanding of who He is and what He can do.

When I first believed, I knew that Jesus is God in human flesh. As I read the Bible, read books about the Bible, and listened to those who spoke about spiritual matters, my understanding increased. Yet with each truth came a distinction; I believed it in my mind and reasoning, but unless Jesus revealed it to me as a ‘rhema’ or a special message from Him to me, it didn’t sink in and stick.

For a long time I wondered how I could be so forgetful. Then I began to see the difference between what some people call ‘head knowledge’ and ‘heart knowledge.’ These terms are not used in Scripture, yet it seems a biblical principle. Some passages call it ‘milk and meat’ with the latter referring to those revelations from God that produce obedience.

This morning, Chambers picks a short like from this passage, extrapolating on whether or not his readers have faith as a personal possession; otherwise known as heart knowledge.

Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:24–26)

I understand the question because I know that faith needs to be tested. I might say I believe, but when put to the test, my faith is proven solid. God knows the reality of it, but for me to really know that my faith is all that it should be, I must come into situations where the choice to believe is clearly set before me, like a test, and I pass that test.

Martha had seen the miracles of Jesus. She was now in a place where her faith was tested. Her brother was dead. Jesus had not shown up to heal him before that terrible event. Now what would Jesus do? She was hopeful and said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (John 11:21–22)

Martha knew in her head that her brother would be raised from the dead on the last day. In other words, God could do that, but did she really know it? She expressed her trust in Jesus Christ by saying that whatever He asked, the Father in heaven would do.

When I think over some of the things that I claim to believe, that I’ve asked Jesus to do, and then He did it “exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or imagine” I realize that truly He is the author of faith and the One who makes it complete. Without Jesus, the truths of God would never get into my head, never mind make it to my heart and come out in life’s experiences or pass any of those tests.

Note: We left for church before I wrote all of this, and the sermon today matched my thoughts about the things God uses to test me so that He is on the throne of my life. He will not settle for anything else, including a place beside that throne only as my helper. He is the Lord, the One I trust to control and take care of all things. Some might call this a devotional and that sermon a ‘coincidence’ yet the more of my life that is wholly yielded to Him, the less I believe in happenstance or coincidence. He knows how to touch my heart!

No Coincidences

Esther 3:1–7:10, 3 John 1:1–4, Psalm 117:1–118:16

Gibbs, a main character on television’s NCIS, has ‘rules’ for life. One of them is that he does not believe in coincidences. The Word of God totally agrees. The book of Esther illustrates this well.

First the queen decides to disobey the king, making it possible for Esther, a young Jewish woman, to become queen. Then her uncle Mordecai discovers a plot against the king and exposes it. His deed was recorded in the king’s book of chronicles. The king puts a man named Haman in a position of authority, but Mordecai would not honor him, so Haman plotted to kill all the Jews. Mordecai pleaded with Esther to intervene.

His message to her was, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13–14)

At first, she was unwilling. Approaching the king without being summoned could mean death. However, she replied to her uncle, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

She approached the king and he welcomed her. She prepared a banquet for him and Haman. He asked her request and she invited him to another banquet. Why two meals? Why not tell him what was going on at the first banquet? It soon comes out . . .  

Full of himself, Haman built a gallows to hang Mordecai, but that night the king could not sleep so started reading the chronicles. He “happened” upon Mordecai’s good deed. He wanted to honor him, so the next day asked Haman how to honor a man that pleased him. Of course Haman thought it would be him. He was humiliated when he had to honor Mordecai, then greatly dismayed when Esther told the king of his treachery at the second banquet. The king hanged him on the gallows he had built to kill Mordecai.

Coincidences? It makes no sense for a queen to risk her life, for a young Jewish girl to be in the harem of a king and become his queen, to be accepted when she approached him without being called (against the law in that place). Why two banquets, other than to give the king opportunity to find out Mordecai had rescued him?

This is a story that affirms faith in a sovereign God who is in charge over the details of life. His plans will come to pass. Esther and Mordecai discovered this. I also am assured that whatever happens, God is involved.

Even so, God’s people are told to cooperate with what God is doing. As Mordecai said to Esther, God can find someone else if I refuse, yet what a joy to be in the right place at the right time and willingly involved in His plans.

This is why the Apostle John wrote to Gaius, whom he loved, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1–4) John knew the delight of cooperating with God.

So also did the psalmist: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes . . . . The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (Psalm 118:6-9, 14)

Trusting the Lord with the perplexities of life not only produces great joy, it also affirms that with Him, there are no coincidences!

To Live is Christ — aware of the causes

Abraham set about to arrange marriage for his son, Isaac. He sent his servant about 450 miles to find this wife-to-be. She must belong to his family since God forbid marriage those outside their nation and faith. (This was to prevent them being led astray into pagan practices.)

The servant was worried that whomever he found would not be willing to return with him. He was also concerned that he may not find Abraham’s relatives in the first place. However, he went on his way.

When he reached Mesopotamia, he stopped at a well. He asked God, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham . . . let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’ — let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” (Genesis 24:12-14)

Before he finished his prayer, a young woman came, responded to his request for a drink, and offered to draw water for his camels. In no time, the servant found out that her parents were kin to Abraham. They invited the servant into their home. He immediately bowed his head and worshiped, saying, 

Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren. (Genesis 24:27)

The dictionary defines a “coincidence” as “a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.” Those who do not know God and who do not pray would call the above described event a coincidence.

Last week, I was having a problem with a quilt design. I didn’t know how to make something work properly. I prayed about it. Later that day, a person I do not know (the spouse of a quilter that I do know) sent me an email. Attached were several photos that this person thought might interest me. One photo showed the solution to the design problem that I was having.

Coincidence?

Several times my husband and I become aware of someone with a financial need. One of us will indicate we should help. Without consultation with each other, we decide an amount. When we compare our thoughts, each of us says the same number.

Coincidence?

A neighbor tells of one evening after work. She was very tired and wanted to go to bed, but thoughts of a friend kept popping into her mind. She felt as if the Lord wanted her to go to her friend’s house. She resisted because she was exhausted, but the thoughts would not go away. She dressed and went out. The friend and her daughter live together. Both of them are without a sense of smell, but when they opened the door, our neighbor smelled the fumes. The house was full of gas. The fire department later told them that one spark and the house would have exploded had the doors not been opened.

Coincidence?

Jesus Christ promised His people an abundant life. Whatever else that means, it includes a life full of coincidences . . . well, that is half true. We experience remarkable concurrences of events and circumstances, but we know the causal connection. Others may not see God at work so the causes are not apparent to them, and we are often surprised at times too. His answers are certain, yet never what we expect. We pray like Abraham’s servant for things that seem impossible or at least unlikely. Then we worship with great joy because He organizes events to answer our prayers.

In the kingdom of God there are no coincidences!