Has something ever happened in your life, which you thought was a lucky circumstance or chance event that proved beneficial? The car wouldn't start, making you late in your commute to work, only to find out that by being late, you missed being part of a terrible accident.
Often, things that appear to be circumstantial are really the sovereign intervention of our wonderful Lord. This is true not only today, but throughout all time. I was thinking the other day about John the Baptist, six months older than his second cousin, Jesus.
John's parents lived in a city of Judea (near Bethlehem), in the very region where Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children two years and under, to cover the time frame of the birth of the King of the Jews, Jesus. Of course, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as prophesied, and his earthly father was warned by God to flee to Egypt before the slaughter.
But what of John the Baptist? (Of course, he wasn't yet "the Baptist," but was only six months older than Jesus at the time). We don't read the details of his deliverance, but we know that he was spared. He lived right there in the kill zone, as it were. But Jehovah had plans for this little toddler.
He could have been just over two years old, and so not subject to the decree. Or perhaps when the soldiers came to his house, his aging parents, Zacharias and Elizabeth, answered the door. Can you imagine the soldiers staring into their old faces and concluding that surely no little child lived in that house? (They were old enough that Zacharias had told the angel who visited him before John was conceived, "I am an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years"—Luke 1: 18).
Joseph, Mary's husband and the earthly father of Jesus, was of the tribe of Judah. He belonged in the land of Judah (which includes Bethlehem and Jerusalem and surrounding cities). But he dwelt in Nazareth of Galilee, Zebulon's inheritance. After the Babylonian captivity, the old landmarks of inheritance were "moved" or ignored. People were shifted here and there so that the conquering Gentile nations could maintain control over the Israelites. Was this merely coincidence or the hand of providence?
It was handy. Here were Joseph and Mary, way up north in Nazareth, being ordered by Herod to go to the city of their ancestry to pay tax, which brought about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, as prophesied. God warned Joseph, in a dream, to take his family and flee to Egypt, so that Jesus would later be brought back from Egypt (also according to prophecy).
When they returned, Joseph had a home and profession (carpentry) to return to in Nazareth, fulfilling yet another prophecy. Was this all coincidence? Circumstances that just happened to align? Or the design of an all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present Triune God?
I choose the latter, for I know it is true. It is true by the Word, and it is true by my own experiences of the hand of God intervening to sovereignly protect and direct me, and to provide what I need when I need it most, whether I realize it or not.
Do you have any amazing stories of God's provision for you, which otherwise would look like coincidence or circumstance, though you know it to be God's sovereignty at work? Please send them to [email protected].
An End to Racism
6/2/2020 9:02:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
With One Voice
5/24/2020 3:38:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Trust in God
5/17/2020 3:21:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
A Firm Foundation
5/9/2020 6:35:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
No Fear!
5/2/2020 3:35:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Author of Peace, Not Confusion
4/28/2020 2:44:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Too Timid to Tell
4/24/2020 8:52:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Resurrection Promise
4/11/2020 3:54:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
God's Mercies
4/2/2020 11:04:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Yet I Will Rejoice
3/18/2020 11:22:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Slow Suicide—Part 2
3/5/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Slow Suicide—Part 1
3/2/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Vicki Dorshorn
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
2/6/2020 6:14:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
A Stable and an Empty Tomb
12/24/2019 6:01:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Do Definitions Matter?
12/17/2019 3:08:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Darkness Creeping In
11/26/2019 10:17:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
The Presence and Purpose of Pain and Sorrow
8/31/2019 9:27:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Salt and Light
8/21/2019 8:15:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Real Rainbows and True Light
8/17/2019 3:17:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
The Light of Life
8/7/2019 9:20:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
A Giant Eraser
4/23/2018 3:09:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
He Is Risen
3/30/2018 2:57:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Rejection
7/22/2015 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Liberty Bell & more
7/4/2015 3:32:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Breaking News
6/22/2015 11:26:00 AM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Cracked Foundations
6/12/2015 1:50:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Power Transformers
6/5/2015 12:27:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Transformers
5/28/2015 by: Vicki Dorshorn
What is my name?
5/20/2015 by: Vicki Dorshorn
What age is Jesus for you?
12/21/2014 8:41:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Part 2 - Stories of Sovereignty from England
11/21/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Stories of Sovereignty from England
11/15/2014 7:28:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Coincidence or Sovereignty?
11/3/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Time to Care
8/24/2014 10:59:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Lion on the Loose"
8/16/2014 5:29:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Lessons from My Garden - Part 6
8/10/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Lessons from My Garden - Part 5
8/3/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Lessons from My Garden - Part 4
7/27/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Lessons from My Garden - Part 3
7/20/2014 3:33:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Lessons from My Garden -- Part 2"
7/12/2014 8:54:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Lessons From My Garden - Part 1
7/7/2014 7:23:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Dreams, Revisions, and Renewal
6/29/2014 10:30:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
A Dream that is Reality
6/21/2014 9:13:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
The Return of the Swallows
6/14/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Part 2 - Where will I go when I die?
6/7/2014 2:30:40 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Where will I go when I die?
5/31/2014 9:05:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Truth or Deception
5/24/2014 5:34:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Deliverance from Falling
5/16/2014 2:30:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Deliverance from Tears
5/10/2014 8:03:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Deliverance from Death
5/3/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
The Significance of Death
4/27/2014 5:45:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Conclusion of Why Bad Things Happen
4/19/2014 8:35:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Good and Bad, Relatively Speaking
4/12/2014 1:18:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
The Potter and the Clay
4/5/2014 9:10:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Bad Things" - Part 5
3/29/2014 1:47:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Bad Things" - Part 4
3/21/2014 12:52:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Bad Things" - Part 3
3/15/2014 12:18:00 AM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Bad Things" - Part 2
3/8/2014 1:56:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
"Bad Things" - Part I
3/1/2014 7:14:00 PM by: Vicki Dorshorn
Who are "good" people?
2/26/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
Why do bad things happen to good people?
2/22/2014 by: Vicki Dorshorn
