Have you ever heard someone say, “There are NO coincidences or there are no accidents“? You might hear this in reference to someone you sat next to at a bible study who later becomes an instrumental part of your life. Or it might be the person who “happened” to check you out at the grocery store, that you felt moved to say a kind word to and later find that it kept her from taking her own life like she had planned. It might take the form of something like “The person you married was no coincidence” or “that person who happened to be driving by…and stopped when you crashed your car…and ended up saving your life”…was no coincidence.
We all hear these comments from time to time. The question is “Do you believe it?” Are people just wishful thinkers, or is God really so intimately involved in our daily lives that he orchestrate events on our behalf?
In John Ortberg’s book “The Life You Always Wanted”, he posed a similar question that resonated with me: Why are people ok about praying TO God for everything…but seem skeptical and call people crazy when they suggest that He talked back?…as if God only hears and never speaks! Or in our case…why are they surprised when He responds through another person or event in our life?
I’m here to tell you that God does speak to us, and I firmly believe that there are no coincidences. We don’t always recognize them at the time, but hindsight has a way of revealing them to us. I believe God CAN speak to us audibly (although it’s arguably more rare…and apparently not His preferred communication style). More often than not He speaks to us through other people, animals, events (coincidences), His Bible, a sunrise, the look on the face of a small child, an innocent and unknowing question that strikes deep into our heart to address an issue we were struggling with, etc…
I have many stories of how God orchestrates “coincidences” to share over the coming months. However, I also want to hear your stories. If you have a story to share, please email it to brad AT deeperbiblestudies DOT com.
To whom it may concern, I talk directly to God quite often and get concise and very accurate information. I am mature enough to now understand that indeed it is God and not a gut feeling . God is just ‘I Am ” I ask and God tells me, I work for God unconditionally and I am rewarded 10 fold. God gave me the gift of reading others true Hearts. I used to think that I saw the future and could read the past, I only see and hear what God would like me to, so as to do “I Am’s ” work as he uses my physical being to achieve this. Religion seperates God Unites.
I support your post. It is sincere and true. God is you, God is me, God is everyone and everything; visiable&unvisiable, concieveable&unconcieveable.
I️ feel confused. How do you know if you’re in gods plan or will. I’ve been praying to be in gods will since I️ was a teen ages. As a woman in my 30s I️ question if my life events were on purpose or a coincident.
I have had two amazing events in my life just recently which I feel were definitely not coincidences – but God’s leading and timing for a definite purpose. One of the events encouraged me greatly – the other I do not understand the purpose of just yet – but I feel that He wants me to reach out to this person who has been brought into contact with me for some reason… Yes, I would agree that there are no coinidences with the Lord.
Hi all, I am a musician and as such sometimes financially things are good but more often also very tough as this is a fickle industry. A few years ago I was very down and out and one day when i was at my lowest and feeling like everything is coming to a breaking point, i went on my knees and asked God to step in. Not even 5 mins later I got a call from a friend that i have not been in contact with for a long time. He told me he needed me to write a song for a government project to encourage young people to do positve things in their lives. 3 months later it was done and i had a paycheck that paid the bills for the next 12 months! thought i should share that with you guys.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I am at that breaking point but God has just shown me that he is in control of everything.
I needed to hear this, Thank you… no coincidence that I read this 🕆
My husband who I’ve been with for over 7 years now used to be a drug addict. He gave his life to the Lord when he was 13 but ended up in a life of drugs and violence. He overdosed twice and was clinically dead but was found and revived. More powerfully though, when he was about 18 his uncle told him he needed to go to rehab and that he would take care of it. After spending time in rehab and feeling like he could get his life back on track he was ready to reenter the world, or so he thought. His uncle picked him up and within 1/2 hour his uncle gave him a bag of “new” dope that he wanted to sell and told my husband it would be good for him to test it since he was clean and could tell how good it was. My husband was shooting up 1/2 hour after leaving rehab and was seriously questioning why he wanted to live. He went to his dad’s house and sat down at the kitchen table with a loaded 357 Magnum, as he put the gun to his head and prepared to pull the trigger he cried out to God and questioned if He was real. As he turned his head, finger on the trigger, he saw a picture on the wall that had never been there before, it was the picture of Christ knocking on a closed door. The part that stood out to him even through the agony in his heart was that the door didn’t have a knob on the outside and he realized that it was his choice whether or not he let the Lord enter. He put the gun down and walked away and even though he continued to do drugs he ended up getting clean and has been for 8 years now. He moved up here from California and I met him, we got together but neither of us were believers even though I was raised in a Christian home. I knew there was a God but I was choosing my own path at the time. Just about 1 1/2 years ago we renewed our faith and the journey has been AMAZING, I now realize there is no such thing as coincidence. For the Lord to save my husband’s life and then put us in each other’s path is unbelievable and far from coincidence 🙂 We are looking at going into ministry and my husband has a heart for evangelism and sharing his story and the gospel with others. Thank you Lord for having a calling on our lives that we didn’t see before and for finding us worthy, not to mention accepting us back! All glory and praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! You can contact us via email at litupministries@yahoo.com. God bless!
Amy, thanks for sharing your amazing story. God will use the difficulty you and your husband have gone through to bless and raise up others with similar struggles. Go God!
thanks. i cried and ruined my mascara. lol! Truly amazing. God bless you and your family right now. I pray God continues to bring you two closer and that you protects and guides you all to others who can learn about God and continue to grow in Christ thru you two. god Bless!
I’ve recently rededicated my life to Christ, and have been doing quite a bit of reading, praying, and meditating. I have so many questions for God, and every so often I’ll be thinking about, praying about or talking about some things that wouldn’t come up in everyday conversation and the same topic will appear again a short time later. Just today I saw a few grasshoppers on my daily walk, a couple of times they even seemed to be following me. I never see them like that, and yesterday a friend and I were discussing something concerning the book of Revelation, where John speaks of grasshoppers during a time of war. We agreed that he was talking about helicopters and today there were all those grasshoppers! That would sound silly most other places, and that’s only one example, so thanks for this blog, when I was reading the material and you mentioned animals, I thought “I’m reading about coincidence and here another one is”!! God is so good, and faithful.
Jeff that is the reason I came across this blog. I was searching to see if anyone else had the same experience. It seems to be a way that God graciously confirms His word to me, by seeing or hearing the same thing not long after
I’m an actress..i hope you can respond back to me because you seem like a true Christian that i would love to talk to. I’m young, im 15 years old. One time i wanted to go see a talent agent for representation and i was crying in the car because i was late and when we arrived there…the talent agent hasnt even arrived yet! then another time i wanted to go to an audition but i didnt have a ride that week then my agent calls me and says “hey the audition has been moved to next week” so i was able to make it :))) then this just happend a couple weeks ago. i started thinking about auditioning for x factor and i read the rules and it said “no one with talent agents can audition” so i was heartbroken because i REALLY wanted to audition..then a couple of days ago..guess what? there was an offical announcement that said ” We tore up the rule book this season. Now anyone with a talent agent or non exclusive acting contract can audition!” Do you think God is preparing me for something big in my life?
Hey lovely, I think that God is in control of every situation. He may be using these situations to prepare you for something big that will change your character in your life. He can use any situation to bring people closer to Himself, but you have to remember to think about the motive of your heart, because God knows our motives. Read the book of James… especially the part about praying. 🙂
Chelsea, good to meet you…and thanks for the comment. One thing i’ve learned is that God is definitely preparing you for something big…but it’s usually not something we expect or see coming. God’s hand is easier to see in hindsight. Is He preparing you for an acting career? I dont know. But He does seem to be testing and strengthening your faith…which is more important than what you do for a living. Remember the story/movie about bethany hamilton…the up and coming surfer who had a shark bite her arm off? Before that event, she could say that God was preparing her for a pro surfing career. Instead, she has been used by God to give hope and strengthen the faith of millions of people. With God, we must look toward the bigger picture and realize He has bigger plans than we can see. Good luck, practice your acting, and keep your eyes and ears open. I look forward to seeing how He uses you for His glory. Stay in touch.
Hello Brad: ”karah m’Hashem” – God is everywhere!
I have had five, distinctive happenings in my life, that I know where not coincidences but definitely Gods helping hand I would say. At the time they are not quite as evident, but in hindsight they definitely stand out. I firmly believe there are no coincidences !!! How great is our God !
I had a series of ‘so called” coincidences on the eve of my mother passing away a few years ago. I was out of town performing military exercises as a helicopter pilot and on the daily drive to the base I noticed a small church that I had never noticed in the previous two weeks of making the drive. What caught my eye was a sign out front that said ” A coincidence is God communicating with you”. I thought it was enlightening and quickly started to think of the long evening that awaited me. I attended the evening brief and headed to the aircraft with my crew. I experienced a series of startling problems that would not allow me start the aircraft. After 3 failed start attempts for different problems, the 4th and last attempt resulted in a very loud explosion from one of the turbine engines which sent two of my crew-members running. I then reunited with them and told them we were canceling our flight. I turned my cell phone On and within a couple of minuted received a call from my sister informing me that our 78 year old mother was running a very high fever which was causing her organs to shut down. Her doctor did not expect her survive long. One of my crew-member’s adamantly told me that he would drive me home. We spent the next five hours driving back to my hometown and his constant conversation kept me from dwelling on my mother’s condition. He dropped me off at my car and I was about 20 minutes into the 30 minute drive home when I felt an overwhelming sensation come over me. I finally broke down and started crying. Within 2 minutes my phone rang. It was my sister informing me that our mother had just passed away 2 minutes prior. I am convinced it was her spirit saying goodbye, at least until we meet again. I flew to my mother’s hometown the next morning and we had a very nice farewell funeral a few days later. I returned home the following day and took my kids to the library. On the drive there I passed a church which had a sign out front stating “A coincidence is God communicating with you”. I was totally amazed when I saw this. In my 50 years I have never seen this message either prior to or after this short period in my life, much less twice. If you are reading this, I hope my experience steers you to find answers in GOD. Christ is the only way to True Peace and Happiness, God Bless….
I am a 31 year old mom of 3 and wife of 15 years. I have had atleast 4 near death experiences from a stupid drug addiction that took control of my life when my husband got deployed to Afghanistan and told me he didnt want me anymore after he got there.. I have had atleast 3 people I was close with commit suicide and it is so hard. I have so many things to say but this is a old post. If i get a reply il go into detail. THANKS Niki
Niki, I am so sorry to hear about your situation, and your struggle with drug addiction. It must be incredibly hard to manage life as a single parent and to have a husband leave you. Losing close friends or family is also disheartening. I pray that the Lord will embrace you. Lean on Him. Two words of encouragement and hope for you…1) You are your kid’s mom…and they love you and NEED you. 2) As challenging as kids are, remember that they are a blessing too. Love them like you want to be loved. Please surround yourself with friends who will lift you up and encourage you in the faith.
Hello, I have spent the last year going through a life changing conversion. Several things have happened that cannot be coincidences. I’m blessed by so many little graces. Just last month I went to Adoration at our church. Spending time in the presence of Jesus has been very transforming for me. This time, however, I just didn’t feel much. During that time I wrote down a sentence in my journal that was an unusual thought/feeling for me…”Jesus, lover of my soul”. It was kind of a new layer of faith that I was experiencing. But, I was puzzled by it for sure. I pondered about it for days. Was it a song? Where did it come from? I had no explanation. During that time I ordered several used books from Amazon. One was a Christian woman’s book but not a Catholic one. The books arrived about 10 days later. My daughter opened the woman’s book and commented that it had a lot of writing in it. Disappointed about the markings, I took the book and thumbed through it discovering a half sheet of paper from a woman’s retreat that had to have been held 15+ years ago. A woman, Sharon, wrote some prayers on it, but what I discovered that shocked me was what was printed from the conference….a song and it’s lyrics. The title was “Jesus, lover of my soul”. Divine intervention for sure. This song was not tied in anyway to the original writings of the book. It was just something that who ever held the conference put together. I feel so blessed to have this written and printed evidence of God’s hand in leading my faith. I am so blessed to be His daughter. In Christs abundant love, Laura Daniel
Thank you for your encouraging words – God is Faithful : Maranatha
Hey guys, within the past couple weeks I’ve had two incidences that I don’t believe can be just coincidences. I had been dating my boyfriend for over a year and nothing was wrong. All of a sudden one day at work, a coworker asked me if I was the one who broke up with their boyfriend recently. I replied no, thinking that could never happen. Unfortunately, that night my boyfriend unexpectedly broke up with me. Just out of the blue. I feel like God was trying to warn me. I’m not one for surprises so I feel he was subconsciously preparing me for what was to come. A couple weeks later I was driving back home from college for thanksgiving and traffic was the worst I had ever seen it. Like I wasn’t meant to leave. Then I got behind an ambulance for about an hour that was from my boyfriend’s small hometown. But his town was almost two hours away. I thought for sure God placed that ambulance there for a reason. I just don’t know exactly what He is trying to tell me.
I started fasting and had a dream all these strange coincidences were happening and then it started happening in real life. So many things have happened in 2 days that are strange coincidences that it would take me an hour to write it but leave me scratching my head like what’s God trying to tell me? I’ll say one thing God aint boring! Lol
I have an interesting story that I believe to not be a coincidence. Lately I have been awaiting news that normally would have been delivered months ago as most people awaiting the same get results sooner rather than later if the news is of a positive outcome. I was told just a couple of days ago to not get my hopes up as it is not looking to be in my favor. Yesterday I was home alone with my 2 little dogs and my husband was at work an hour and a half away. He texted around 9:00 am and said there were a few snow flurries falling where he was. It wasn’t snowing here and had not been in the forecast, only cold temps predicted. I was slightly disappointed I didn’t get to see it. As I sat alone in my living room I began talking to God. I wanted to ask him for some sort of sign to stop my worrying, to give me encouragement that, against all odds, everything was going to be alright and work out in my favor. Now this is where I felt silly. I wanted God to give me a sure visible sign. Something I KNEW I wouldn’t miss or write off as coincidence. I wanted to perhaps find a feather or hear a song…or maybe even wake up the next morning to a little snow. SNOW? Well, I felt it silly and asking too much to ask God to bend the universe just for me. As my husband leaves for work this morning he leans in with a goodbye kiss and says to me, “There’s snow on the ground”. I’m certainly thinking, “No way!” Well, looking out the window I clearly see a good couple of inches as far as my eyes can see. Coincidence? Absolutely not. I feel certain it is God’s way of telling me that he heard me and is assuring me that, against all odds, things are going to work out just fine and that He has the last word.
Hello, I am Eve. Reading this confirms what I always think/believe- that there are no coincidences with God.. in fact I always think that if God has a language, the word coincidence does not exist in His vocabulary..lol. There are so many incidences in my life that have shown me that indeed it’s true that there is no coincidence with God..One of them is when one evening after work, I took a taxi, after paying my fare, I forgot to pick my change(and the conductor didn’t give it back). When I alighted, I got another taxi(I had to take two taxis home). All this time I had not yet remembered that I had forgotten my change with the conductor of the first taxi, yet that was all the money I had left. After we had traveled for some distance in the second taxi, I tried to look for money in my bag, and was shocked to realize that I had none. When I boarded the taxi, however, I had found an acquaintance(a lady that used to work as a receptionist at a hospital we used to go to) and we had some small talk. So, when I discovered I had no money in my bag, I told her and she paid my fare and prevented me from being yelled at with insults by the conductor, as that is what usually happens in such cases when a passenger fails to pay their fare. That was surely God and that is only one example out of so so many in my life. Sorry, I am not a good story teller, 🙂