Many events in human life seem inexplicable. Someone was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing with the right people and an amazing event happened. Was it luck? Or is it possible that a greater, divine force was at work in their life? Could it have been providence?

Too many who profess Christianity place too much stock in the secular concept of luck, ignoring altogether the hand of God in their lives. When something wonderful happens, luck receives the glory, not God. On the other hand, when something awful happens, instead of declaring themselves unlucky, God is blamed. Is such inequity merited or is there more to it?

It is true that “time and chance happen to them all” (Eccl. 9:11). Yet, Christians enjoy another vantage point. The apostle Paul says “we know that all things work for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Those who believe and trust in God’s providence can see a Higher Hand and a nobler purpose in their lives, whereas those who do not, simply see luck.

Nevertheless, even in this, many have trivialized God’s providence to the mundane matters of life. I heard of one who proclaimed that God opened a front parking space for him in a crowded parking lot. Perhaps He did. But did He do it so they would not have to walk a long way to the store? Perhaps a grander purpose and opportunity was missed through such selfish thought? Perhaps they missed the opportunity to help the old woman parked on the other side of them who was struggling to load her groceries. Maybe, for them, it was just luck?

Was Job just unlucky when he lost all of his earthly possessions at the hand of Satan, or was it the Hand of The Almighty that allowed these things to happen, proving Job’s faithfulness and His tender mercies (Job. 1:1ff)? God sometimes influences events by allowing them to happen. We perceive them as negative and positive, good or bad, but God has a vantage point that we can never comprehend. God will inevitably work things for good to those who love Him!

Was Ahab just unlucky when an unnamed soldier drew a bow at random and shot him between the joints of his armor killing him (1 Chron. 18:33-34). Not at all. The events that took place earlier in this chapter reveal that God had directly influenced events in this instance to show His justice and holiness (1 Chron. 18:1ff). God’s will be done.

The providence of God is manifest in many ways. Christians need to train their eyes, and more so, their hearts, to look for His wonderful providence in their lives. Even in the darkest trials of life, there can be good. Would a rich family, whose relationships had significantly deteriorated because of their riches, be counted lucky or unlucky when they loose every earthly possession they own to a tornado if they are standing there embracing one another? Likewise, there can be bad in those lucky events in our lives. Would parents, whose son dies in a car accident, be considered lucky or unlucky if they bought the car from their million dollar lottery winnings the day prior?

Before we just chalk things up to luck, let us step back and give some serious thought. Do we not, as Christians, serve a sovereign God (Rom. 9:14ff)? Does God love us (John 3:16)? Does God have our best interests at heart (1 Tim. 2:3-4)? The wise man wrote, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33). Thus, do we credit God with the good, or just blame Him for the evil? Are we looking for the providence of God in the events of our daily lives or have we made “Luck” our god?