Do you believe in coincidence?

I used to until I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ.  Once I discovered God’s glorious mercy and began to understand his character, I knew there was no such thing as coincidence.  God’s word tells us He uses all things working together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.  That means that even the bad stuff is and can be used for good, for his glorious good. 

I have found the more I understand God, the more I carry out his will in my life, and the easier it is to see the pattern of our enemy.  All of God’s word is true.  The Bible tells us God exists.  God makes himself known in the life of a believer.  But knowing God exists also means that other things the Bible talks about also exist.  Like Satan the father of all evil and everything against God, demons, fallen Angels and those who reject God’s grace.  I am not a demon chaser, but I have learned they are real.

As you step out in faith in Christ and begin to do what God has called you to do, things happen in our lives.  It seems every time I have a wonderful, fulfilling, deeply intimate time with the Lord, difficulties follows. Let me give you just a few examples. The first example is around these devotions.  There are times when I just know there is a message hidden within these words I’ve written that somebody needs to hear.  And strangely enough, I have some technical difficulty getting this message out.  Sometimes the Internet is down.  Other times my whole computer will just stop working, but when the Tech looks at it, he can’t find anything wrong with it.  Why just last week my computer was in repair, so I decided to use my husband’s computer to write the devotions of the day.  His computer starts behaving weird.  It took several minutes just to load an application, 30 seconds for more waiting for a menu option, not able to connect to the Internet, etc.  It seems like something prevents me from getting the devotion out.  That’s when I know there’s probably a message someone needs to hear.  Another example might be getting the kids ready for school and the babysitter.  On a day where I’ve had a wonderful quiet time with the Lord, the getting ready part in the morning is chaos.  My 13-year-old son won’t get up, which causes my blood pressure to rise.   My 3-year-old won’t stop screaming at the top of his lungs over the spilled milk on the floor.    The dog’s barking at the neighbor’s dog in the backyard.  Now we’re running late.  We get stuck at every street light between our house and the school!  It’s just so frustrating. 

Have you ever noticed strange things happen when you draw closer to the Lord?  Don’t let it get you down.  Instead choose to laugh.  After all Jesus said we’d have trials in this life but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.  We know how the story ends.  The enemy may try to discourage us, but we’re not fooled by his methods.  We will stand firm with God’s armor on and persevere.  When the enemy tries to attack us, we say to him, “I see what you’re trying to do.  I’m not going to play your game.  Get behind me, Satan.”  We move on. 

Everything happens for a reason.  Perhaps these difficulties are part of God’s plan to develop our faith, our character, or even our patience.  We can trust God knows what He’s doing, even while we’re in the midst of difficult stuff. 

 Lord thank you for already overcoming the world.  Help us to remember you are in control even during the difficult times.  Help us recognize we do have an enemy so we can be prepared by putting on your armor.  In Jesus’ name Amen.    © Elizabeth Marks, author of ThinkOnIt Devotions and has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.  For more devotions, bible studies and a recommended book store, visit http://www.ThinkOnItDevotions.com today.