Coincidences, I think not.

It’s been a few days now since the tragedy next door.  While I am tired to the bone, I have never experienced as close a relationship with God as I have in the past few days.   It’s been incredible.

Do you really believe in coincidences?  We throw the term, "coincidence" around all the time.  Or how about this; “I can’t believe that this happened, it’s just a miracle that all these things came together”.  I’ve heard that before and not really thought anything about it.  It’s just a saying. Ten minutes after you say it, you have forgotten all about it.

Well, maybe that's the problem that we Christians have in today’s secular world.  We have been inoculated with phrases and clichés that we have learned in church all of our lives.  It’s gotten to the point where we can repeat these phrases and not really mean it.  It's just our coping mechanism.  We really don't want to get involved any further than acknowledging that "it's a miracle".

While applying for an insurance sales job back in my younger days, I was required to take an aptitude test to measure my sales aptitude.  I will never forget the owner of the agency talking to me after the test.  He told me he had given this test many times and had never seen anything like my score.  The test showed that I had “zero” empathy.  It meant that I really didn’t care about anyone or anything but was smart enough to know it and could produce “fake empathy” as needed.  This has bothered me for over 20 years now.  It was tough to hear someone tell me that I didn't have any empathy.  I can remember Ella Fitsgerald singing in that old commercial; “Is it real or is it Memorex”.  I am always looking at my emotions to check up on myself.  Am I really feeling something or am I faking it?

I can tell you, I wasn't faking it last Friday.  It was real.  I know what I felt.  I felt the presence of God.  It was very powerful.  So, now the question for me has changed.  It is no longer, do I believe in coincidences, but what are coincidences?

I know the answer and you do too.  Coincidences are opportunities.  God puts them there for you.  Why?  Because he wants you to grow in your faith and learn to trust him more.  But the real growth occurs before the coincidence.  Look back and see how God was preparing you for the “coincidence”.  I guess the real question is; Were you ready and then did you share Jesus?  Did you give God the glory? 

Did God prepare me for this last week?  Absolutely….. I am now convinced that the reason that we, as humans can’t stay in constant contact with God is that while it is incredibly invigorating, it is also very exhausting.  But you do get a glimpse of eternity and that should be enough to keep you coming back for more.

So my challenge to you and to myself is to get off the bench.  Be prepared, because you never know when God needs to use YOU.

Hope you take time to listen to the song that I have included here.  It is so true about me.