Several years ago, while still in high school, I attended various conferences with friends. At one particular conference, I met someone named Chad. I'd see him occasionally after that. He attended Emmaus Bible College and moved on. I attended Emmaus some time after he left.
My senior year at Emmaus, I was about to graduate and my husband and I were looking for jobs preferably at a camp somewhere. While walking down the hallway, I see a familiar face. We pointed to each other and basically said, "I know you." Yep, it was Chad, who had come by to visit other friends. He asked what I was up to and about my future plans. I told him we were looking for jobs at camps. He said that he had a friend who worked at a camp and they were looking for a couple of people. He gave me their contact information and we both went on our way.
That "chance" meeting led my husband and I to Village Creek Bible Camp in Northern Iowa. There, I discovered my leadership skills, and we both gained some great friends. I don't think I've seen Chad since then.
The first time I met Chad, it was a seemingly insignificant event. At least 4 years later, Chad and I "happen" to be walking down the same hallway at Emmaus, where he was no longer attending. God used these meetings to bless Seth and me at a camp for the next year. He blessed us with friends, He blessed our work, He blessed our family as our son was born at the end of our time at VCBC.
Have you ever thought about how God has taken a seemingly insignificant thing in your life and used it to further His purpose? The closer I grow to God, the more amazed I am at how He orchestrates everything for His plan. His sovereignty is something none of us can truly wrap our minds around.
In my Sunday School class, we are studying the book of Esther. Although God is never mentioned throughout the entire book, you can see Him working in the life of Esther and the kingdom in Persia. Today's lesson revealed what could be taken as coincidences as part of God's overall plan.
The king had trouble sleeping. This night happened at the exact time God intended it to happen. Events that had occurred previously had to have been in place before the king had his night of troubled sleep. Events that would happen later could not have taken place before this long night. To us, it seems of no importance that the king had trouble sleeping, but God had a plan.
Because he couldn't sleep, he asked someone to read the chronicles of things that happened in the past. That person just happened to choose an event that caused the king to act. The incident that was read was about the Jew, Mordecai. Five years earlier, Mordecai had discovered a plot of the king's assassination. Mordecai revealed the plot to his cousin, Esther, who then warned the king. The men who were planning to kill the king were dealt with. Now, listening to the chronicles, the king asked if anything had ever been done to honor Mordecai for saving his life. Nothing had been done. At that moment, the king decided to honor Mordecai. The person reading to the king that night could have chosen any event in the chronicles, but he chose this very significant event. This may seem like a coincidence, but God had a plan.
Also, at that moment, Haman happened to be in the outer court. Haman is Mordecai's enemy. Their ancesteral animosity goes back for centuries. Haman hated Jews, especially Mordecai. Mordecai refused to give Haman any respect. The city knew that these 2 men did not get along. It's the middle of the night, the king would normally be sleeping, yet Haman is in the outer court ready to speak to him. Haman has no idea the king is already awake and he may think nothing of it, but God had a plan.
The king called for whomever was in the court - Haman. Haman had come to ask the king to hang Mordecai. He had just built gallows for this very purpose. The king, however, had different plans. Before Haman could bring his request to the king, the king asked Haman how he should honor a man. Haman assumed the king intended to honor him so he told the king everything he wanted to happen for his own honor. At first it just seems ironic: Haman coming to the king to ask to hang Mordecai while the king wanted Haman's opinion on how to honor Mordecai. Ironic to us, but God had a plan.
As the story goes, Haman is humiliated as he led Mordecai around the city on a horse, dressed in a robe and a crown, while all the city gave honor to Mordecai. God's plan was coming together.
Are these four events truly coincidences? Are they really insignificant? God was working in each of these events. He knew the end of the story before anyone else.
God still uses insignificant coincindences. One of the young women in my Sunday School class gave an amazing example of such a case. While on a missions trip, a little girl noticed a hair tie on her wrist. She thought it was pretty, so this young woman gave it to her without a second thought. Afterall, she had plenty of others at home. The mother of this little girl was so grateful for the kindness shown to her daughter that she came and thanked the group. No one receives something without payment and the mother was simply overjoyed. Eventually, the mother accepted Christ as her Savior!!! The young woman in my class never would have imagined that a simple pony-tail holder would lead a woman to Jesus.
Do you think any decision you make is insignificant now? Think about a time in your life when God used the insignificant to become significant.
