Three years ago in May, my daughters and I were invited to dance at a mother–daughter banquet at a corps [church] in Salem, Ohio, where a great friend of mine was the officer [pastor]. The evening was full of fun, laughter, and great food. As I drove through the little town on my way home, I found myself thinking “Wow! What a great assignment! My friend is very blessed; I think I might even be a little envious of her nice building with its brand–new kitchen and a large multipurpose room filled with lots of people.”
Shortly after the mother–daughter banquet, my friend hosted a Longaberger® basket party. For the crazy love of a friend and baskets, I journeyed through a blustery snowstorm. When I finally arrived, I had the same feelings as before.
It just felt right, my driving through this town. It seemed as if I had lived there my whole life. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if one day my husband and I were stationed here?” Little did we know, that very summer, God would make that happen. My husband I were given “orders” by our leaders to move to Salem, Ohio, and be the officers there. What are the chances of that? Was it a coincidence? Perhaps. A God thing? Most definitely.
As I look back through the years, my friend and I have always seemed to be linked “by chance.” When we worked at camp, we both had
the same haircut. When our families made the journey to the School for Officer Training, we shared a moving truck. We even had to share a van at training! And when it felt as if no one knew how broken I was during those vigorous days of studying, my friend found me at the altar and cried with me.
Here in Salem, many days, I realize that I am going through things that are the exact duplicates of what she experienced here before me. I find myself “by chance” linked with her all the time! But is it chance?
Bible coincidences?
The biblical past is filled with mysterious “coincidences” that were really not coincidences at all. Not by chance did Queen Esther end up on the throne as the queen of Persia. Not by chance did she find favor with one of the most tyrannical kings of his time (Esther 4:2) and save her people from certain death.
It wasn’t by chance that the widow was out gathering twigs for her last meal when she came upon Elijah (1 Kings 17:7), and he supplied her need. It was no coincidence that John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary, carrying the Messiah in her own belly, came near (Luke 1:41). Surely it was not by chance that tormented men from the tombs crossed Jesus’ path into deliverance (Matthew 8:28). Of course, by no means did chance choose a carpenter to die by nine–inch nails.
Who’s in charge?
Every day the Lord reveals his will for our lives anew. Events, people, moments in time are strategically placed. Of course, we try hard to make our own paths, claim profound miracles, gloat about successes, or even make claims about how we have grown our ministries. We forget that it is by His plan that we have a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
You dream about a person, and the very next day you run into her and discover that it was God who put her in your mind while you slept. Or you think about a favorite song and poof, it appears on the radio. Or you feel the urge to pray for a dear friend and find out days later that you prayed on a day he needed it most.
I am convinced that nothing happens by chance. Many times in a believer’s life, the future seems bleak. In those times, we may feel alone, far from God, questioning whether He is really there—until a “coincidence” happens. Then we are instantly reminded of His love. Not by chance would He have His loved ones in a place without hope of a future. God’s possibilities are boundless, and will never happen “by chance.”
Erin Brand and her husband, John, are Salvation Army captains serving as pastors of a corps in Salem, Ohio.
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