Grow: Luck versus Faith

Source

This time of year is all about getting lucky, finding that four-leaf clover, following the rainbow to get the pot of gold at the end. And all of it leaves me wondering how faith factors into it all.

This is the way I see it: Luck is relying on chance. Faith is relying on God.



With luck, you are basically just throwing your hands in the air, admitting that you have no control, but also admitting that no one else has control over life situations either. And so you just anxiously wait to see what will happen.

With faith, you are still throwing your hands in the air, admitting that you have no control, but also recognizing that God does have the control over all life situations and circumstances. And so you can wait to see what God will do in hopeful anticipation.

The Bible defines faith as this: "Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1 CEV) So as a Christian, we don't have to have hopeless hope (a hope that has no basis for becoming a reality); we can have a hope that gives us the confidence that God will come through, because the Bible also says this: "We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose." (Romans 8:28 CEV)

And so because we know that we are a beloved child of God, we know that He has our best interests at heart, so we don't have to depend on luck; we can depend on the author of our faith, God.

But it's so easy to sound spiritual and say that luck and chance are all baloney and that we need to trust in God, but it's always so much harder to actually do. I will admit that I can be superstitious at times, giving in to the idea of luck (although I'm not entirely sure why), especially when it comes to Sebastian's sleeping. When he has a good night of sleep, I don't want to talk about it because it means I'll "jinx" it and then, therefore, become unlucky with the amount of sleep he gets (and I get) the next night. But I think I just need to adjust my perspective. Yes talking about the good thing does "seem" to make that good thing go away, but maybe it went away because I was taking too much pleasure in that good thing and not in the one that gave me that good thing.

It always comes back to our relationship with God. We have got to get that right. We have to every day seek Him and follow Him obediently. But don't try to put God into a formula (if I trust God here, He will give me this). That only leads to disappointment and disunity with God. Instead, ask God to change your heart so that you only desire what He desires. When you feel like you've got that down pat (yeah, right) then by all means, use the formula. :)

So all this to say, I need to grow my faith more. I need to remember that He is not only a God of the big things, but He is a God of the little things (wanting a good performance, a good day, a good blog post). So don't wish me luck; pray for my faith.

How do you view luck when it comes to faith?