Text- 1 Samuel 6:9 – "And see, if it goes up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his HAND that smote us: it was a CHANCE that happened to us "
Yesterday, I mentioned to you that there are three factors that induce the different experiences people have in life. I said the events of life for each individual will be predominated by one of these 'triggers'. The first is TIME; we talked about it yesterday. Today, we will be talking about the other two triggers
2. CHANCE
Our text yesterday, Ecclesiastes 9: 11 affirms that swiftness, strength, wisdom, understanding, and skill would amount to nothing except time and chance works together for a man.
See there are happenstances in life; certain things just happen by chance; unexpected, but usually explainable; sometimes they are pleasant, and sometimes, they are not.
God sometimes does some 'random' acts of mercy (Rom. 9: 15), but the devil is a chronic opportunist (1Pet. 5: 8), and this makes it extremely dangerous to live a life of chances, or 'luck' as some prefer to call it.
Though God, by special acts of mercy, occasionally shows up in the realm of chances, it is the devil's primary domain of operation. That’s why the root word from which “luck” is coined is the word “Lucifer”
I have formed the habit of never wishing anyone the best of luck; it sounds like a wicked statement to me. I wish them the best of God instead, or I simply say “All the very best”… If you leave people to the best of luck (chances), who knows what it may bring?
3. HAND
Our text today, establishes a third trigger, in contrast with chance… HAND! There are certain 'happenstances' in life that defy all possible explanation; when that happens, it becomes evident that a hand is involved. In other words, some things don’t just happen by mere chance, but by the direct supervision of an invisible hand, usually the sovereign hand of God.
The psalmist says in Psalm 118: 16, "The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly".
God said in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end".
Beloved, God has a plan for you; life might have dealt you some really bad cards; but God still has a purpose for your life. If you embrace that purpose, and commit yourself to its pursuit, God will by His Valiant Hand make it happen for you.
PRAYER
All things are working together for my good in life. Every event of chance is channeled to do me good. I see the hand of God daily in my life. The hand of God begins to do valiantly for me from today in the Name of Jesus.