There’s No Such Thing As Luck

by Gina Gardner, Steppes of Faith

“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn from doing them good.” Jeremiah 32:40 NKJ

“Lucky guy!”

“You lucky dog!”

“Boy, you got lucky!”

“You lucked out!”

“That four-leaf clover you found is good luck, you know.”

So much of what happens in our lives we attribute to luck. According to Dictionary.com, luck is defined as “a force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life to shape circumstances, events, or opportunities” as a result of chance. So, whenever anything good or bad happens, we tend to think that it all comes from some strange happenstance or chance.

Kids are especially prone to think this way. From tests at school to games with friends, winning and losing, and even who gets assigned which chore they must do at home. As far as they’re concerned, it’s all a matter of luck.

The truth is there is no such thing as luck. There is no cosmic force that lines up to make it work. Nothing happens by chance. The truth is it’s all God.

Luck Isn’t Real

I don’t need to point out that God is the Creator of everything (Genesis 1), and that means He’s in full control of it all. He is sovereign.

We also know that His eyes constantly wander back and forth across the earth watching everything. Second Chronicles 16:9 tells us,

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

Nothing escapes His gaze, not even the fall of a tiny bird. I love the next part that says He wants to show those of us who are loyal to Him how strong He is. Let me just say; He’s pretty strong! So, if God is in control, if He sees everything, and He wants to show us His strength and love, how could anything ever happen by mere chance?

This is such an important thing for kids to know as they grow up. They will find comfort when they truly understand in their hearts how wide and deep and high God loves them. Then, no matter what happens in life, they can be assured that He is watching over them and taking care of them, even on the roughest of days. Romans 8:28 tells us,

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” (NLT)

God is always working things out for our good through His power and grace. He is the one who is the force of all that is good in our lives, and He always works with purpose. Nothing is left to chance, or else it would contradict His power and sovereignty. And that’s why luck isn’t real.

It’s Not Luck, It’s Blessing

God is faithful to complete every plan He has for you and your family, plans to prosper you, to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Plus, He made a promise to you later in Jeremiah 32:40 that says, “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn from doing them good.” (NKJ)

He makes a promise that lasts forever that He will never stop trying to bless you, to do you good. I like the sound of that.

He also longs to give you the desires of your heart. He already knows all about it when your son, after studying every game tape and playbook he can, tries out for the varsity football team knowing he’s not the top favorite. God sees your daughter, who isn’t a natural dancer, practicing like mad to perfectly perform every step at the upcoming recital. And He sees us parents trying so hard to keep all the necessary plates spinning each day so we can keep our families safe and provide what they need.

Since God is faithful, we can safely say, then, that it wasn’t luck that got your son on the team or cured your daughter’s two left feet or left you with enough energy to read a bedtime story with your still-wide-awake toddler. It was God. All of it. He wants to bless us. He never stops doing us good. But first, we need to believe it.

He Is the One True God

Why is it easier, then, to believe that we’re lucky rather than blessed? Why is it easier to declare, “Gee, that was a lucky break!” instead of, “I can’t believe how God is blessing me”? Is it that we’re nervous about how others will react to us if we say that? Are we somehow embarrassed by giving God the credit?

That’s a pretty ugly thing to consider. No one wants to believe that maybe we aren’t acknowledging God as we’re supposed to. For those who love God and daily follow Him, it’s almost unthinkable. Yet, that’s what we do every time we attribute the good things in our lives to luck and not God. It’s even harder for our kids because they are so prone to reacting to their good fortune with thoughts of getting lucky. Jesus told us to give to God what is God’s (Matthew 22:21), which, in this case, is recognition of His doing good to us. Then, we should remember who God is.

Again and again, the Bible tells us that He is the one true God and there is no other; no one could ever compare to Him. He deserves all praise, don’t you agree? Then we need to recognize His power and love in a brand-new way and apply it to our lives without trivializing it with clover leaves and ideas of luck.

He is the Lord. He alone is the one who blesses us.

Nothing Happens by Chance

So, what do we do with the things that seem to happen out of nowhere? How should we react when something happens so suddenly that it seems we just happened to be in the right place at the right time?

This happened to my oldest son just this week. We live in Florida, so we finally took our family to see a spring training baseball game. The boys decided that they wanted to run the bases after the game ended. When the ninth inning came, we packed up our stuff and headed across the stadium to get in line with the other kids.

At one point, we were almost directly behind home plate, which gave us a super up-close view of the game (which was incredibly cool). We saw the pitch and then the batter foul the ball back behind him into the stands. Guess who “just happened” to be standing right there where the ball came down? Yep, my son. He was right there to get in the middle of the scrum and come up with the ball. That was so super exciting! He talked about it the whole two-hour drive home.

Like a lot of people, the first thing he said when he showed the ball to me was, “Mom, I can’t believe how lucky I got!” I replied the same words I always do when he says things like that, “No, honey, you were blessed by God. He wanted you to have that ball. Isn’t He wonderful? God is good, isn’t He?” My son nodded his head knowing I was right and he offered up a quick offer of praise to the Lord.

Isaiah 46:4 tells us, “I have made you, and I will carry you. I will take care of you, and I will save you. I am the Lord.” (NIV)

Even in the times of being in the right place at the right time or moments of odd coincidences, there’s no luck or chance about it. God is at work in every detail of our lives and our children’s lives every day.

Give God the Praise He is Due

So, the next time you feel lucky, or you think you’re on a streak of good luck, remember, it’s not luck at all. You didn’t actually get lucky. Everything happens by the will of God to fulfill His plans for your life. He is a good God, and He longs to do you good because He loves you very much.

He loves to bless you, so let’s give Him the recognition and praise He is due.

Your Turn

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Have you ever thought about luck and why we get lucky sometimes? How does knowing that God is blessing you instead change your opinion of what luck is? How can we teach our children this important truth? Share your thoughts and comments with us. We’d love to hear from you. Let’s give God praise together for His blessings in our lives.

Further Reading

Have you ever been curious about who St. Patrick was? Faith Gateway lays out the history of this incredible man of God who overcame some pretty unpleasant events in his life right here.

Desiring God also does a nice job summarizing God’s desire to bless us. You can read it here.

Please follow and like us: