I
laughed the minute I realized it: I was setting about to touch up my
hair color on the very day my filmmaker son was beginning work on a
new movie called...Showing Roots!
Because we have had such discussions before I knew what he would say
if I told him what made me smile: “Wow, what a coincidence!”
For my
part, I've quit using that “C” word. I've lost faith in it, no
longer believe in it, and don't want any part of it.
The
dictionary defines coincidence as a striking occurrence of two or
more events at one time, apparently by mere chance. Because I believe
that nothing happens
by chance, I don't need a word in my vocabulary that suggests
otherwise. In my book, labeling an occurrence as a coincidence is
simply an excuse for not looking more deeply into it to find out what
God might be trying to say.
For
surely God is speaking to us all the time, wooing us, warning us,
offering words of wisdom to help us get through our days. But our
senses are so tied to the natural word in which we live that our
attention is assailed by all the visible details surrounding us that
demand our notice. God's voice is lost in the cacophony that
surrounds us on a daily basis. But the very world that distracts us
away from Him is at His beck and call, and so He uses it to call our
attention back to Him.
What
jumps out at me in the definition above is the word striking.
God has to arrange something out of the ordinary to get us to notice
one detail above the rest. The most famous example in the Bible,
perhaps, is the bush He set on fire in the desert to catch Moses'
attention, a bush that surprisingly wasn't
eventually consumed by the flames engulfing it. It was when Moses
stepped near to investigate this strange occurrence that God spoke
into His life and directed his future.
He
simply does the same with us. When I look back at some of the events
I have labeled as coincidence in the past I see situations at least
as amazing as flaming
tumbleweed! And while they worked to catch my attention, too often I
shrugged them off after a moment or two of amazed reflection as just
one of those things that happen from time to time. Yet it wasn't
enough that Moses saw the
burning bush...it was his further investigation of the incident that
changed the event from a seemingly chance happening to a moment of
great significance in his life.
Could it
be that the same thing would happen in ours? And why does it matter?
Seated
in the back seat of the car one morning recently on the way to church
was a man who has the unusual name of “Chance.” My attention was
drawn to his name when I mistakenly called him “Chase” and he was
quick to set me straight. “It's Chance,”
he said.
Since
then I've wondered how he came by that name. Was it short for
Chancellor, perhaps? Or was it maybe a nickname? Finally I had to
ask. He told me that when his mother was pregnant with him she was
just learning how to play the game of poker. A friend was explaining
to her that when it was her turn she would have the chance
to match the previous bet on the table, raise it, or fold the hand.
The word so intrigued her that she left the table that evening at the
very least with a name for her unborn child. The fact that chance
can be synonymous with opportunity
is what makes it important in our lives, as well.
Those
“Moses Moments” that God uses to get our attention likewise seat
us at an imaginary poker table. He has dealt the cards, and the bet
is on the table. Now He's waiting to see how we'll play the hand.
Will we simply call the situation a coincidence and walk away, or
gamely enter into the fray, invest ourselves somehow and turn the
next card to see how the situation plays out?
Some are
content to go about their days without giving God a second thought.
But it mattered greatly to the children of Israel that Moses didn't
just walk on by. And similarly there are people in our lives who
could be favorably impacted by a decision on our part to delve a
little deeper into the seemingly random occurrences that get our
notice. I am surrounded on a daily basis by people bound by
addictions and lifestyles that they are powerless to escape from on
their own. Perhaps God is wanting me to get more involved in somebody
else's battle. Like He did with the children of Israel, He will
simply do whatever it takes to set His people free. Sometimes those
actions begin with ordinary people like you and me. We can shrug off
the offer or respond with a willingness to see what God has to say.
It's our choice...but also a chance to make a world of difference in
somebody else's life.
Maybe
that moment is worth another look.
“...Moses saw that
though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I
will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn
up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to
him from within the bush...”
(Exodus 3:2-4 NIV)
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