Luck and God

Luck and God - Parenting Like Hannah
Photo by Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes

Wow, that was lucky!” “What a wonderful coincidence!” “I guess that was her destiny.” You can’t go very long without hearing someone attribute an incident to luck, coincidence, chance or destiny. You probably have used similar expressions yourself from time to time, I know I have.

The problem with luck and chance is that it means you are often attributing something that was God’s handiwork to pure chance. Think about the last time you used the expression. Was it actually God working in your life? Was it God blessing you with some blessing you had not anticipated? Were you witnessing God’s plan for your life begin to take shape?

Part of dedicating our children to God is helping them see God working in their lives. Study after study shows that Christians who actively live out their faith are those who believe God is alive and active in our world today.

God is not a god who worked during Bible times and then suddenly decided to sit back and just watch mankind until the judgment. Rather He answers prayers and provides guidance in our lives in many different ways. He blesses us with not just food, shelter and other “normal” blessings, but provides special blessings – some of which we didn’t even request!

The next time you begin to hear yourself attribute something positive to luck, stop yourself. Give the credit to God working in your life. Teach your children to see God’s hand in the “coincidences” and “good luck” of their lives. The ability to see God working in their lives will help your children develop a sense of love, gratitude and respect for God. This in turn will help their faith grow.

Maybe you have been so busy, you have stopped noticing many of the ways God blesses your life. Have your family start a gratitude journal. Take time at the end of each day to review with your children all of the ways your family saw God working that day. Help your children understand that God is indeed alive, active and in control in our world. It is a vital part of your child’s spiritual training.

What ways have you seen God working in your life that others have attributed to your “good luck”? How do you teach your children to see God instead of coincidence when God is working in their lives? I would love for you to share your thoughts in a comment below.

Published by

Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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