Divine Coincidences

“He reasoned…in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.”

Acts 17:17 

Are there such things as honest-to-goodness coincidences? Of course. Are they planned by God? Of course. Wait a minute. Can the two go together? Of course! 

Take today’s verse. Some of those window-shoppers who just happened to be meandering through the marketplace on the day Paul was preaching ended up becoming believers. Yet the coincidence of that day’s leisurely stroll—the people examining cantaloupe and chatting with neighbors—was no coincidence, for believers have been chosen “before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). 

The trick? No trick at all. “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). Even bona fide coincidences. God arranges for natural events to occur at specific times to further his ends. In other words, he plans coincidences. Discovering how or to what extent will be one fascinating feature of heaven! In the meantime… 

It’s no mistake that your car broke down and that kindly stranger helped you. It’s no accident that at lunchtime the same young man keeps coming by your office door hawking sandwiches. The people you meet, the people you live near, the folks who sit in the pew in front of you are there by divine appointment. Why? So that you might fulfill God’s purpose: to make him real to all those around you. 

Have fun doing that today in every “coincidence.”

Lord, to me it’s mind-bogglingly complicated but, oh, so natural. Thank you for placing the people that you do in my life. Energize me to fulfill your purpose in each divine coincidence—help me to make you, oh, so real to each and every person.