What Do We Do with Seemingly Randomness in Our Lives?
My friend moved to the Czech Republic to be close to his girlfriend. He needed a job and ended up teaching English which at the time just seemed just a way to stay in the country. He found out that he enjoyed teaching.
Another friend lived in a small village in the north of Thailand when she was a little girl. One day a missionary came through and talked about a man named Jesus. She had no idea who the man was talking about, but that name, Jesus, stuck in her mind.
My wife Danielle took another person’s spot at the Verge conference in 2010. We planned on returning to Thailand as longterm missionaries by the end of 2010. We didn’t know that Aaron Ivey and his band would do a worship set sharing about the needs of foster children in our cities.
I know you also have stories of seemingly random events in your life. We “fall into” a job or career. We meet people that we think nothing of at the time. We attend an event “just because”.
Some random events or encounters impact us in hurtful ways. We don’t understand why something happens to us. They cause pain and confusion. We cry out wanting to know how long we must endure the suffering. In the midst of the anguish, we wonder if any good will come from the hardship. That’s if we can garner any cognitive thought. It feels phony to say anything like, “God has a plan”. But we long for a reason; for beauty to come from the ashes. We don’t ever plan to encounter painful times.
Other times we make decisions or meet someone that at the time we don’t think much about.
Like the three stories above.
Geoff didn’t like language arts growing up, yet he needed a job in the Czech Republic. Since he was a native English speaker, the local school offered him a job teaching English. Now years later, he and his wife have led multiple mission teams to the Czech Republic to teach English and share the gospel with students. And they are preparing to move there full time soon.
Waew moved to Bangkok years later like many young Thai girls do to find work. This can turn out poorly as many get lured into the sex trade. But Waew met some Christians that told her about this man Jesus again. Even though others blew the Christians off, Waew remembered that missionary from years ago that came through her village. That was enough to peak her curiosity to learn more. As a married woman with two teenage boys, Waew has touched hundreds of lives with the Good News.
Danielle did not plan on attending the Verge conference with me, but when another person wasn’t able to attend, she made it work out. We thought we could take advantage of both of us attending by us going to different break-out sessions and comparing notes. Little did we know that Aaron Ivey would share in one of the main sessions about children in the foster care system that needed stable homes. Eight years later Danielle and I still live in Texas, still with a heart for Thailand, but also have an almost eight-year-old son that we adopted through foster care.
When I look back on my life, I can point to many things that seemed random at the time that have turned out to have God’s fingerprints all over them…even the bad times.
My conclusion is that what seems random at the time rarely is random. God is always at work in our lives. It’s just hard to notice sometimes.
What should we do with seemingly randomness in our lives?
Cultivate a sensitive heart. I am referring to an ability to notice spiritual things. Don’t just look and see what is happening in the physical realm.
Trust that God really is in control. This is harder than it sounds. The way we respond to what happens in our life truly reveals how much we trust God.
Journal for future reference. I go through seasons of journaling. I am thankful that I journaled a lot in 2010 and the years that followed. In fact, my first book, Adopting the Father’s Heart came from a lot of my journal entries.
Tell me below about a time in your life that turned out to not be so random after all.
