Taking It to Work:
As true Christians, we hate the “four letter words” that are fast becoming commonplace in our rapidly degrading culture. In 1939, not all that long ago, it was a public uproar that the word “damn” was released in a motion picture to the public. Although it was very much against the film industry’s ethics at the time, “Gone with the Wind,” made the line that contained that word, famous the world over (“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a …”). Our culture has slipped considerably since then.
Long before Hollywood helped to introduce our current decline, there was another four letter word that secretly had worked to replace God on His throne, all on its own. A word so powerful, that in today’s devotional, it presents itself as an idol, absorbing God’s ultimate providence and power as its own. What’s the name of this idol? We call her, “Luck”.
Much in the same way, “Mother Nature” has stolen God’s fame for the wonders of His awesome creation. Lady Luck has been given credit for fortunes and misfortunes, that in reality, never left the firm grip of our Lord God. We attribute so much to luck, that we will wear good luck charms, pray for good luck, and wish others good luck. Now there is nothing wrong with wishing good fortune to someone, but attributing good and bad occurrences to good and bad luck is really, in a way, dethroning God as the sovereign Lord that He really is. In reality, everything that happens, or does not happen, is squarely in God’s providence and control.
On a personal level, if something hard to deal with happened at work or home, and God’s intention was for us to be taught or disciplined through it, but we just chalked the whole thing up to bad luck, would we learn what the Lord had in mind? Would we relate the discipline or lesson to the behavior? And if something great happened, because He is a rewarder of the righteous, would we ever draw the conclusion that it was Him who was rewarding us for our obedience or steadfastness, or would we just chalk it up to some “good luck”?
You see how the term luck almost blinds us from really seeing what God might be doing in our life? If we truly understand and follow an all-perfect and all-powerful God like we profess, then we cannot give credit to good luck, or blame bad luck any more than we should be giving the credit for His creative genius to Mother Nature.
Our God is in control of it all. There is no such thing as luck. Contemplate that at your next department pot luck, as His Word works in you, today.
Prv 16:33 (ESV) – The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
Matt 10:29 (ESV) – Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Eph 1:11 (ESV) – In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…
Jonah 2:8 (ESV) – Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
John 1:3 (ESV) – All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Listening to the Holy Spirit (Rhema):
A coin does not fall as man plans. Understood to be out of his control, he attributes its result to a force unseen and unnamed. To this force he then gives a name “luck”, and worship begins. The plans of man then are given also to this named thing, attributing then the good fortune and bad fortune to follow. This then is an idol. Beyond wealth and fame it damages faith and removes My throne and replaces My hand, although My hand continues to move. Do not give way to idolatrous thinking. No occurrence is unknown to Me, and no step in the life of the world is out of My control. Beyond count are My decisions, and the mindless imposter (luck) has no place among the thinking of My children. They are to come to Me that they would know My ways. Good and bad they do appear, but good only for those that follow My way and long for the light of eternal understanding. Give way not to idols that have no power. Give not a name to that which has no existence. Remain in the faith given, and My Father and your Father, will make all things right and new in His time. The non-existent idols of the earth will then fall, empty under their names.
