Mom said, “There is no such thing as a coincidence, it is a Godincidence.”
Sadly today, I do not remember the exact circumstance when my mom told me this, but these words have echoed in my mind time and time again. These words have guided me in times that others would just toss off as a coincidence.
Just to make sure we are all on the same page (pardon the cliché), look at the definition of coincidence:
From Dictionary.com: a striking occurrence of two or more events at
one time apparently by mere chance
From Merriam-Wesbster.com:
the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection
From Google search engine:
the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection
From urbandictionary.com
1. Noteworthy event of having the exact change during small cash transactions.
2. A compartmentalized serendipity formed by an underlying synchronicity.
3. Something that arises from two or more original ideas being related
I apologize. I am fascinated by the variety of options available when googling a term or topic on line. The Urban Dictionary, of course, popped up something surprising in the first definition, but the other two add different perceptions to the word coincidencethat may flavor this particular essay.
Here is what happened this week that has lead to this consideration of Godincidenceversus coincidence. On the way to have my husband’s MRI after a serious dump truck accident, I grabbed a book to read: Debbie Macomber’s If Not for You.
I first read one of Macomber’s books a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. I knew she was known for knitting and writing, what I thought were romance novels, but then I discovered this year that she is a contributor for Guidepostswhich is my nightly quick devotional I have used for years.
I decided to give her a read and see if it offered me light, enjoyable, recreational reading. Soon I was binge reading the book. I could not stop reading it and I felt refreshed when it was finished.
Therefore, sitting and waiting, I opened up the second book. In no time, I was hooked. But more than that, I was hearing Mom’s words in my head—there is no such thing as a coincidence, it is a Godincidence.
Reading the prologue, something I learned while attending the Course of Study, I discovered that the book’s premise or setting begins almost immediately with a terrible accident.
Interesting. Here I was sitting and waiting for a diagnostic procedure due to an accident. Even more so, the accident was eerily similar—except the one we were dealing with was a truck not a car accident.
So I read on. Almost immediately I was binge reading again, and then I hit Chapter 6. While the main female character is in the hospital, she asks the male character to pick up her Bible and read her something from Psalms.
To make the story shorter, he had no idea even where Psalms was in the Bible, but she directed him with the age old directions, “Open the book to the middle and you should be in Psalms.” (p. 63)
And so begins Sam’s introduction to the Bible. He lands on Psalms 5 which I am inserting from BibleGateway.com from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message:
Psalm 5: A David psalm
1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
I lay out the pieces of my life
on your altar
and watch for fire to descend.
4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.
7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
to get me safely through enemy lines.
9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.
11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
for decking us out in delight.
—The Message
Beth, the main character, finds relief from her pain and falls asleep. Meanwhile, Sam starts exploring the Bible.
Godincidence 1: Psalm 5 had a descriptor which seemed to connect that particular psalm to the situation at hand: Give heed to my words, O Lord, Consider my groaning. Remember, she was in extreme pain.
How many times do we face a life challenge and have no idea where to turn? We may seek professional help as an accident forces us to do with the injuries that occur. We may be struggling with a crisis at work and we look for specialists to help fix it.
Life is like that. One challenge after another. For those with a strong faith system, the tendency is to shrug our shoulders, attack the problem, and push through it. We sometimes forget to include God through prayer.
“Praying the psalms” is again a technique that is often overlooked. Even Macomber included “praying the psalms” in her story and introduced Sam to the Bible while healing Beth lying in pain.
Godincidence 2: Here my husband’s own confronted me groaning resulting from the accident and the book I picked spoke to me. Was this not a message that I should be praying the psalms, too?
Life is filled with godincidencesand we often overlook them. Is this not the Holy Spirit speaking to us?
Please join in praying Psalm 5 with me (these are the NLT version of the first and last stanza)1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
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