Sunday, October 19, 2014

No such thing as "Luck"... so why say "Good Luck" (Anymore) somthing to think about...


Has anyone ever shared with you something they were about to go through, experience, participate in, or perform and your knee jerk response was “Good Luck”? What does this phrase “really” mean? What is “luck”? Also, why do we add the qualifying adjective “good” to it? We say this as if there is something called “luck” that could actually sway the outcome of our experience. Perhaps we are saying that outcomes are a result of chance and that you have a 50-50 “chance” for things to go in your favor and they are hoping that by chance the outcome will be good. The fact is, “Luck” really doesn’t exist and whether you respond to person, “Good Luck”, “Bad Luck”, “Luck” or “No Luck” has NO bearing at all on the outcome of any pending circumstance or experience they will experience. With this in mind, I am not sure why most people continue to say “Good Luck” in these situations or circumstances. Also, I am not sure why some people believe that they will benefit from someone wishing them “luck” or “good luck”. The truth is that God is sovereign over the outcome of all, any, and every circumstance or situation that we experience. It is in accordance to HIS (and HIS ALONE) sovereign, divine will for our lives. Think about it, can two forces be both sovereign? This could never be. Only one being can be sovereign over all or no being is sovereign over all. If no being is sovereign over all, then we would only have “chance” or “luck” to consider. However, the Bible clearly states in James 1:16 & 17, “Do not be misled, my beloved brethren. Do not be misled, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect ([d]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].”. This should be an encouraging passage of scripture to us all. To actually know that God loves us, cares for us, has a plan for us and that we are not living, experiencing, encountering, enduring, participating, etc. in things simply out of chance and the results of all of encounters also are “chance” outcomes with no real purpose or meaning. An interesting story from the Old Testament should be considered to shed further light on this topic. In the Old Testament Book of I Samuel 6: 1-12, Basically, the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines who were experiencing the wrath of God through plagues via an infestation of rats and disease that had come upon the city. The philistines had decided to return the ark in hopes that the plagues would subside…
When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.” They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.” The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way? “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.” So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. 
Even back then, people were attempting to prove that there was such a thing as “chance” or in modern language “luck”. Which meant that there was no One/thing behind or directing things that happen in our life. They just happen for no rhyme or reason, purpose or point. We can only hope that the odds weigh in our favor or positively on our behalf. Hopefully, if people wish and hope this for us, that somehow the random outcome could be swayed towards our benefit. We have no way of swaying a random outcome, that just happens. Our response of “Good Luck” doesn’t attribute anything to a person. We have established that there is no such thing as “chance” or “luck”. God is sovereign over all outcomes. I would love to start a movement for all people to respond in these situations, “Blessed Success” as opposed to “Good Luck”. “Blessed Success” gives credit to whom and only whom credit is due, God. He and only He is the “real” key and source of our success. His gracious gifts and talents bestowed upon us enables us to be successful or have a positive outcomes from the various experiences, circumstances, situations, encounters, predicaments, tests, etc. that we are involved with in our life time. He and only He should be acknowledged. When we say “Blessed Success” this is sort of a prayer for us on behalf of the person and in accordance to the sovereign will of God. We are saying in these two words, that we hope that you find success in your pending endeavor and we hope that this success is Blessed in accordance with the sovereign will, purpose, plan that God has for your life. Hopefully, you will join me in this movement. From now on instead of responding “Good Luck” in the future, join me in responding “Blessed Success” instead. Thanks for your time. God's richest Blessings, Grace & Favor in all your present and future endeavors.

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