Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
"Happenstance?"
Apr. 30, 2018
O LORD, You have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
~ Psalm 139:1-6 (ESV)
Perspective counts for a lot. For example, here is a story which comes out of Tennessee.
A husband and wife were driving into their apartment's parking area. As they did so, they heard a series of sharp pops. It was only after they got out of their car and saw some bullet holes that they realized those pops had been gun shots.
Further investigation showed one of those bullets had gone right through the door and should have hit the wife in the passenger's seat.
She checked. "Nope, no wounds," she reported.
So where did the mystery bullet go? A hole in the lady's purse showed its trajectory and a piece of lead in her wallet showed where the slug had found its final resting place. When the lady spoke to the press, she told them she believed that God had intervened and used her wallet as a shield. She summed up by saying "Just by the grace of God. It's a miracle to keep me or him from getting hit."
Now, this is where perspective comes in. Generally, there are two different perspectives to such a statement.
The first perspective says, "The lady is imagining things. I am thankful that she wasn't hurt but to see divine intervention here is a stretch. About the best you can say is it was a good bit of luck that her purse stopped the bullet. I'm glad it did. But thinking God moved the events of the entire day just to put her purse in the way of the bullet ... I just can't buy it."
The second perspective holds that the Lord keeps track of the hairs on our head and all the sparrows throughout the world. If He is willing to do that, why would we assume He would do anything less for His beloved children?
Throughout Scripture our Heavenly Father say He knows us.
He knows when we sit down and when we rise up. He knows our paths and is acquainted with all our ways.
Notice how the Psalmist ends. He says, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." In other words, the Lord knows that which is beyond us. Similarly, He will do what we cannot or would not.
Which takes me to my perspective which says that God was there and involved when that bullet was stopped by the lady's purse. But God would also have been there if that lead had hit her. The Lord's reality is that He is with us always and that all things can work together for good to those who love, and are loved, by the Triune God (see Romans 8:28).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that You deliver me from evils I never realized were present. Grant that I trust You in every situation to do that which is right and best for my body, soul, and our relationship. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by J. Warner Wallace for Cold Case Christianity on April 16, 2018. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: https://www.christianheadlines.com/columnists/guest-commentary/woman-says-it-s-a-miracle-her-wallet-blocked-bullets.html
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Perspective counts for a lot. For example, here is a story which comes out of Tennessee.
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