With March winds also comes St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday that celebrates the life of Saint Patrick who brought Christianity to Ireland. Saint Patrick actually used the 3 leaf clover to explain the Trinity – God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit – to the Irish people.
Prior to Christianity and the work of St. Patrick, the Druids (members of the high-ranking professional class in ancient Celtic cultures) believed that they could thwart evil spirits and danger by carrying a shamrock. A three-leaf shamrock would enable them to see the evil spirits and escape in time.
A four-leaf clover was said to ward off bad luck and offer magical protection. Scientifically, for every 10,000 - 3 leaf clovers, there is only one four leaf clover which is actually a very rare mutation.
As a little boy growing up, I can remember looking, and looking, and looking in clover patches trying to find the rare 4 leaf clover. I don’t think at the time it mattered so much that I was told I would have good luck if I found the coveted 4 leaf clover.
As a very competitive young boy, I just wanted the bragging rights to say I found the 4 leaf clover first! Not much has changed in the last soon to be 55 years!
As I grew up and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the age of 12, I began to question the difference between luck and blessings. Luck is described as the chance happening of fortunate or adverse events.
Anything I hear or experience in the world, I know to measure its accuracy or validity, I have to go to God’s Word, The Bible, to see what scripture has to say. Romans 8:28 says that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.
Proverbs 16:33 states a general principle: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
Casting of lots is similar to rolling of dice. God’s sovereignty involves two aspects. God’s active will or sovereignty involves something He causes to happen, and God’s passive will involves Him allowing, rather than causing, something to happen. Whether events happen through God’s active or passive will, the end result is that God is sovereign meaning He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation.
After careful examination of the Scripture and God’s Sovereign, never changing character, I have concluded that there is no such thing as luck. God is a God of details, and He cares about every little and big thing in our lives. Luke 12:7 says, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
I can assure you that if God knows at every moment the number of hairs on your head, He leaves nothing to chance or luck! Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”
No matter where you are today or what circumstances surround you, know that God is not taken by surprise. While God is a God of many chances holding back His judgment so that everyone has an opportunity to accept Him as Lord and Savior, He is NOT a God of chance happenings that could bring fortune or adversity into your life otherwise known as luck.
I leave you with one of my favorite verses, John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
-Richard Berry
