There is No Such Thing as Random

 
So many things happen in life, big and small, that we think of as being random. But the Bible is pretty clear. Nothing is random. God controls every tiny little step.

 

1 Kings 22 tells the story of Ahab the king and Micaiah the prophet. The king wanted to attack Aram, but wisely didn't want to do it if God wasn't with him. (Although really he didn't want to do it unless he could get "prophets" to say that God was with him. Maybe he thought that would obligate God?).

Anyway, 400 prophets said, "Go. You will be victorious. God is with you."

But Micaiah actually asked God, and then he told the king, "Go and fight, but God says, you will die in battle."

Not what the king wanted to hear.

So the king threatened him with prison unless he gave him a better prophecy.

 

Hello... You ask God whether you will be victorious, so you know whether to do something or not, and when you don't like the answer you threaten the prophet? Asking God for advice when you've already made up your mind what you're going to do anyway is a dangerous thing.

 

So, back to Ahab. He decides he will outsmart God. He gets Jehoshaphat to dress up in the kingly robes, and Ahab just wears ordinary clothes. (Over his armour... he's not taking any chances).

So the enemy soldiers take off after the one dressed like a king. But some archer shoots his bow "randomly" in the air and it comes down on the king. And not just hits him, but hits him right between the joins of his armour. He suffers a long painful death as he watches his forces defeated.

 

Random? I don't think so. Random to the guy who fired it. Not aiming at anyone in particular. But not random to God. God guided that arrow with pinpoint accuracy straight to it's target. As he had predicted through Micaiah.

 

Want to do something anyway, even though God has clearly shown you it is the wrong thing to do?

You're a fool.

 

Proverbs 16:33 says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the LORD."

There is no such thing as random. You can roll a dice. You don't know what number it is going to come up. God not only knows, he can change it if he wants. God controls everything. There is no random.

 

So what?

 

Well, for the future that gives you confidence, knowing that God is in control of everything. Nothing can happen outside of what he chooses. And he loves you. So in the end everything will turn out well.

 

But also for the past. Look back at the "random" events in your life. All those coincidences. (or Godincidences as one of my friends calls them). And think about how God has controlled those events to get you to where you are today. To make you who you are today.

Why?

What is God trying to achieve in and through you?

What has God been trying to say to you?

Have you been getting the message? Or just dismissing them as random?

 

There is no random. Maybe God has been trying to show you something and you missed it.