Coincidence?

“Coincidence is the word we use when we can't see the levers and pulleys.” Emma Bull

Two months ago, in Spokane, Washington, Haans Glassi was on a camping trip and decided to go wakeboarding. He was ready for the boat to pull him along the water, but as the boat sped away, he noticed that his hand was in a loop in the towline. He tried to free it, but didn’t get it out in time.

When he finally got his hand free, he said he didn’t feel much pain and was sure he was fine. However, when he looked at his hand he realized that something was very wrong. He was quoted as saying, “I pulled my hand out of the water and it had pretty much lopped off all four fingers, [there] was a lot of flesh and bone, not a lot of blood.”
He was taken to a hospital and has been in physical therapy twice a week since then. He still has half of his index and middle fingers and can grip most things. However, that is not the end of the story.

Last week, Mr. Glassi received a telephone call from the sheriff that he didn’t expect. The sheriff said that a fisherman was cleaning a trout he caught and found a finger inside. Investigators took a fingerprint and matched it to Mr. Glassi. The trout was caught eight miles from the site of the accident.

The sheriff asked if Mr. Glassi wanted his finger back, to which he replied, “uhhhh…no…I’m good.” However, the sheriff’s office is keeping the finger for a few weeks in case he changes his mind!

Think about all of the crazy things that led up to the “reuniting” of the man and his finger. The man lost four fingers in a lake. A fish ate the finger that was severed. It just happened that another man was fishing on the same lake and happened to catch, out of all the fish in the lake, the one with the finger inside. Then the man decided to eat the fish instead of throwing it back. As he was cleaning it, he happened to notice a finger. Instead of throwing it away, he calls the police. It just happened that the finger still had a fingerprint and they also “happened” to have the young man’s prints on file.

When it was time to pay the temple tax, the tax collectors came to Jesus’ disciples and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” They replied that he did and Peter went unto the house to talk to Jesus about it. Jesus told him to go fishing in the lake. Jesus said, “Throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” (Matthew 17:24-27)

Jesus did many astounding miracles. Some of them were so incredible that it boggled the mind. Over 10,000 people were fed with just a couple of fish and a few loaves. Jesus walked on the water. Lazarus was raised from the dead. All of these and many more defied the laws of nature.

However, there were also times that the miracle was not in the defiance of nature, but in the timing of the event. Just like the events leading up to Mr. Glassi being reunited with his finger, there was a miraculous string of events that led up to the coin being in the fish’s mouth.

Perhaps someone accidentally dropped a coin in the lake. (I have one friend who likes to believe that the person who dropped the coin had obtained it through deception or cheating!) It “happened” that a fish swallowed the coin. Then, the fish “happened” to be near the shore on the same day that the temple tax collector showed up. Peter, then, “happened” to drop the hook in the water at the same time the fish was near and the fish “happened” to take the bait.

The great thing about this account is that none of this was an accident or strange coincidence. It happened just as Jesus said it would, at the time Jesus promised. Remember, there are no coincidences with God. The things that happen to us do not just “happen.” They happen because God allowed it or caused it.
My prayer is that you will be able to praise God in the middle of whatever circumstances you are in, whether they seem very good or seem to be the end of the world. Trust God. Put your faith in the One who created you and knows what is best for you. Give your whole life, your whole agenda, your everything to Him and He will always lead you to righteousness.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)