Do we attribute life’s blessings to like or luck? Many of us are likely to say “I used to be lucky” reasonably than acknowledging God’s sovereign hand at work in our lives. The truth is, we’re loved by the one true God who created all things and made his love known for us by dying on the cross for our sins. When things go well, these are gracious gifts from the God of the universe for us to enjoy here within the land of the living. When we depend on luck, we dismiss God’s role in our lives. The Bible teaches that love is an intentional covenant, and rooted in who God is, while “luck” is a sophisticated concept that attributes likelihood for our success and dismisses God’s sovereign power at work in our lives.
What the World Means by “Luck”
Luck is likelihood, coincidence, or random circumstances that unfold for our profit. We wish people “Good luck” in hopes that likelihood will bring goodness right into a situation. Other times, we declare “things just worked out” to notice we aren’t sure how events coordinated so well, but we’re glad for the resulting impact. We attribute mishaps, frustrations, and failures to “bad luck.” Meaning for no particular reason apart from randomness, things took a turn for the more severe. Luck removes responsibility, intention, selection, or divine purpose from events. Luck is a mysterious force that pushes out and in of our lives. Luck shouldn’t be something that will be controlled, nevertheless it’s something we’re all hoping for.
What the Bible Teaches about Love
When you enter right into a relationship with God, the world, our lives, and the events we observe throughout us tackle more meaning. Randomness doesn’t control the universe; God does. As Christians, we learn that a God of affection is in control of all things. The love the Bible describes is agape love. It’s selfless, sacrificial, unconditional, and action-oriented. God represented the best form of affection through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The God of the Bible reports that he’s an lively a part of our, his children’s, lives.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes love this fashion: “Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it shouldn’t be proud. It doesn’t dishonor others, it shouldn’t be self-seeking, it shouldn’t be easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn’t enjoyment of evil but rejoices with the reality. It all the time protects, all the time trusts, all the time hopes.”
And God is the embodiment of this love. 1 John 4:7-8 tells us, “Dear friends, allow us to love each other, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.”
God’s love is a continuing. It shouldn’t be depending on circumstances. We must trust that even when life is difficult, God’s love continues to be present. Our circumstances are something he guarantees to walk us through. His love sustains us, it guides us, it saves us from Hell, and it never leaves us. Luck changes, but God’s love is reliable.
God’s Sovereignty Supercedes Luck
According to scripture, God is sovereign over all events. Proverbs 16:9 teaches, “In their hearts humans plan their course, however the Lord establishes their steps.” While he allows us the gift of free will and offers space for forces of nature to run their course in our world, nothing happens without his knowledge.
Romans 8:28 guarantees, “ And we all know that in all things God works for the great of those that love him, who’ve been called in response to his purpose.” The exact extent to which God ordains events is a mystery, but we all know that He is involved enough with our lives to be certain that goodness will be found by those that love Him. Direction is provided for many who invite his guidance. And we’re so cared for that He even knows the variety of hairs on our head; we usually are not a comfortable accident or a random grouping of cells (Matthew 10:29-30). We were made on purpose with a purpose.
When we attribute our ability to manage, our success, and even our struggles to luck, we’re failing to see God’s role in our lives. He is there to assist us, to guide us, and he’s aware of each twist and switch we endure. God desires to be a component of our story. He doesn’t want us handy out testimony over to the meaningless force of luck. For the believer, coincidence is divine orchestration.
The beautiful thing about our relationship with our God is that the love he offers is covenant-based. We don’t must gamble on luck when we have now a God who desires to guide our steps and supply for our needs. God is faithfully committed to us as his adopted little children once we ask Him to be the ruler of our lives. As we live with obedience and faith, we trust God to steer and bless us. God’s way leads us to the very best possible end result for our lives. This doesn’t mean a simple future, nevertheless it means we’ll live under the shadow of his wings and for His glory.
Luck often fails us, but God never does.
Love Requires More of Us
In this loving relationship with God, there’s an expectation that we are going to obey God’s way and live sacrificial lives. Luck requires nothing of us, while love requires an exchange between the involved parties. We show our love for God by following his ways, and God’s love was placed on display through the cross, in addition to the million ways he cares for us throughout our lives.
John 14:15 states, “If you like me, keep my commands.” Reminding us that the loving relationship we have now with God requires that we keep his commands. John 15:13 declares, “Greater love has nobody than this: to put down one’s life for one’s friends.” Reminding us that God loved us a lot that he was willing to put his life down for us. A relationship with God changes us; it requires us to be engaged with our Creator, while luck is passive.
We must recognize that relationships require love, not luck. Relationships don’t “just work out”; their success or failure relies on our efforts. Our world is a spot where the powers of fine and evil are at odds. Sin is an element of the human condition, so we must anticipate hardship, reasonably than being sidelined by it. God calls us to persevere through trials.
Colossians 3:12-14 reminds us, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive each other if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive because the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues placed on love, which binds all of them together in perfect unity.”
Colossians describes the very best strategy to treat others and interact with the world around us. Love is what holds our relationships together. As we grow in our walk with the Lord, we shift our considering from luck-based considering to love-based faithfulness.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Dayne Topkin
