“There is a God who governs the world, so that things do not come to pass by chance, no, not the smallest event, but all by Divine direction.” ~ Matthew Henry
The late, and beloved, Corrie ten Boom did not believe in coincidence. She had too many Divine Appointments to prove otherwise.
If you are not familiar with Corrie, she is credited with saving the lives of many Jews during WWII by helping them escape, and many others by hiding them from the Nazis in her home.
During 1943 and 1944, there would be as many as six and seven people living secretly, and illegally, in the ten Boom family home. She and her family were later imprisoned for their underground deeds.
One of Corrie’s “coincidences” came about when a clerical error allowed her to be released from the prison camp a week before all women prisoners her age were executed. Corrie later wrote that, “God does not have problems, only plans.”
Coincidence- A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged.
There was another lady who experienced quite the coincidence in the Bible. You may or may not know her as the Shunammite woman whose son was raised from the dead by the prophet Elisha in the book of 2 Kings, chapter 4.
Elisha had told the woman that there would be a famine in the land and she should go and stay wherever she could, because the famine would last for seven years. She obeyed and took her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
At the end of the seven years she makes her way back to Israel to make an appeal to the king to get her house and her land returned to her. Now this is no small feat for anyone, especially for a woman. To go before the king and demand your property be returned to you after seven years of being gone had to be a little scary, and from the commentaries I have read he might not have been particularly easy to work with.
In the meantime, the king is talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, they are just sitting around discussing all of the great things Elisha has done. There they are going down through the list of all the miracles he had performed and when Gehazi gets to the story of Elisha bringing the Shunammite woman’s son back to life she walks in at that very moment to ask the king to restore her house and land! Gehazi is beside himself and reacts like this:
“My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 2 Kings 8:5 NKJV.
It isn’t like they are the only ones in the room…surely there are many people in line to see the king just as this woman. But Gehazi sees her just as he is telling about her son’s miracle.
The king listens to her story, assigns an official to her case and tells him to “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.” 2 Kings 8:6 NIV.
Crazy Coincidence? I prefer to call it Divine Appointment!
God had taken care of her this far; He sure was not going to abandon her now.
Can you handle one more story?
We all love Ruth and Naomi and their dedication to one another in the Old Testament. After the death of both of their husbands they move back to their homeland and in order to provide food for the two of them, Ruth is out in the field gathering grain that is left over from the harvesters.
“Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.” Ruth 2:3 NKJV.
She just happened to come to the field that belonged to Boaz…a man of influence and wealth who would soon fall in love with her and take her for his wife.
But it doesn’t end there. This little “coincidence” truly is a Divine Appointment, for we find Boaz and Ruth listed in the New Testament in a pretty important place.
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.” Matthew 1:1-5 NKJV.
Surely you can think of times in your life when circumstances have come together that you knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it had to be God. Some would have called it coincidence but you knew better.
God had His hand all over it!
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.” Psalm 37:23 NKJV.
What specific instances can you recall that God has done in your life that you knew was not a coincidence?
Have you found yourself in the right place at the right time and just knew it was the hand of God?
Nothing happens by chance!
I don’t want to fail to give Him the praise and glory for each and every one. Do you have one you would like to share? We would love to hear it!
Leaving you with this poem that supposedly was a favorite of Corrie ten Boom…
Ode to Coincidence
My life is but a weaving, between my God and me
I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily.
Oft times he weaves sorrow, and I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent and shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the skillful weaver’s hand
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.
What a wonderful post, Nannette! Thank you for this precious reminder that nothing in our lives is happenstance or coincidence. I had a remarkable experience recently. I was praying with all my might, longing for answers about certain things in my life, when all at once, God began speaking to my inmost soul. He took me back to the night I totally surrendered my life to him in my bedroom at the age of 14. He told me that I had handed the reins to my life to Him that night, and He had taken those reins, and He has controlled my life ever since. It was like a moving picture in my mind, as He brought scene after scene to mind…things I hadn’t thought of in a long time, but it helped me to see WHY certain things fell into place the way they did and how His guiding hand has been in control of every, single step and decision. Oh, the comfort it brought to my soul!! To know that certain things were not “mistakes” in my life, but they were Divinely-orchestrated by the hands of a loving God, my Father, and how every, single thing has led me to where I am right now. “Right is the pathway leading to this”…I love that song, especially that line of it. Thank you for allowing me to share what was on my heart this morning. Your post was such a confirmation of what God has been dealing with me about. So grateful for you and the blessing you consistently are to me. Love you, dear sister!