Why There’s No Such Thing as Luck

by Gina, 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 girl!”

“You lucky dog!”

“Boy, you got lucky!”

“You lucked out!”

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” due to 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, as far as they’re concerned, it’s all a matter of luck. Many of us grownups think like this too.

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

Four Reasons Why Luck Isn’t Real

I don’t need to point out that God is the Creator of everything. He is sovereign, powerful, and fully in control of everything.

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 His faithful followers how strong He is. Needless to 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?

We also know what 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 purposefully. Nothing is left to chance, or else it would contradict His power and sovereignty.

This is an important distinction we all should know. We find comfort when we truly understand how wide and deep and high God loves us. Then, no matter what happens in life, we can be assured that He is watching over us and taking care of us even on the roughest of days.

Why 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)

When God makes a promise, you can be sure He’ll keep it. And if He says He will not turn or stop from doing us good, you can believe it

He is with you, leading the way, whenever something out of the ordinary occurs. He blesses you when you get an unexpected financial gift that covers your medical bill, a string of green lights when you’re running late, a long-forgotten set of jumper cables found buried in the trunk of your car, and an offer of hand-me-down clothes for your child when the shopping budget is zero.

God always shows up when you need help. He is faithful in every detail of your life. And because He is faithful, we can safely say it’s not luck you’re experiencing. It’s Him blessing you. All of it, every time.

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 thought, don’t you think? None of us 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 Him doing good to us.

The Bible repeatedly 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? We ought 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?

My oldest son experienced a “right place at the right time” moment last year. We live in Florida, so we 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 entire 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 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 our lives everywhere, every day.

Give God the Praise

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. 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 acknowledgment 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 it’s God’s blessing instead change your opinion of what luck is? How can we teach our children this important truth? Share your thoughts and comments with me below. I’d love to hear from you!

Further Reading

Have you ever been curious about who St. Patrick was? The folks at Desiring God did a great biography of him and how God used him to spread the Gospel throughout Ireland. You can read it right here.

Desiring God also wrote another great article summarizing God’s desire to bless us. You can read it here.

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