A Coincidence?

There is no such thing as coincidence. Behind all things there is a God who rules and orchestrates all things down to the smallest detail. All things are in His hands. This means that there is no such thing as an insignificant event.

Think about this. Is there anything significant about a workman turning up on time and doing the job he's supposed to be doing? It might not seem like it, but just listen to this:

In 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed; and, in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words, and they came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God. Years after, he told this story to one who visited him on his death-bed. (Charles Spurgeon)

Insignificant? I think not.

How about a simple matter of getting some cinema times wrong? A bit of a nusciance perhaps, but not particularly significant? A few years ago I was part of a church that was handing out tracts at the local cinema to people coming out of Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ. However, one man misread the cinema times.  He ended up handing out tracts to people coming out of the cinema, saying "This might help explain what you've just seen". The problem was he was handing them to people coming out of Scooby Doo 2! There may well be those rejoicing around the throne of Jesus in the new creation all because they made the fairly insignificant choice to watch see Scooby Doo 2, and because one man failed to read a few numbers correctly.

There is no such thing as coincidence because God is a God who rules over all things. Because God is providentially working in all things there is no such thing as an insignificant event.