Luck Isn't A Coincidence

Today is Friday the 13th. Rumor around the block? It's "bad luck." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Honestly, I don't even fully know why it's considered bad luck—aside from the horror movie (which is a hard pass, because I hate horror movies). I tried to research it... andddd honestly? Not a rabbit hole I'm willing to dive into.

BUT what I do want to talk about is luck. Not bad luck, but good luck, the type of luck you suspect to follow after finding a four leaf clover. Have you ever had someone say, "wow, you're so lucky!" Lucky you went to college. Lucky you got that job. Lucky you met him. Lucky you bought a house. Lucky you got the car. Lucky that door opened. Lucky everything worked out. Or maybe it's as simple as lucky you are healthy. And every time someone says it, there's a part of me that wonders... was it luck? Or was it God?

When I think about luck, I think about a memory from when I was little—ohhh I don't know, maybe five years olf. I was at Save-A-Lot with my Mamaw and Papaw. I remember hearing a faint meow outside the grocery store. We looked and looked until we finally found a tiny black kitten hiding behind the can machine. And what did they let me do? Bring her home, of course! Actually, even better... bring her to their house. I named her Lucky. The irony now that I didn't know then, naming a black cat Lucky. Even at five years old, I made the connection. I said she was lucky because I found her, but I was lucky because she found me. In my child mind, that's how I saw it. But now, looking back, I don't think it was luck at all. I think it was providence. Because isn’t that such a beautiful picture of our relationship with God? We think we found Him. We think we stumbled into grace. We think we got “lucky” when things work out. But the truth is, He was always the one pursuing us. We weren’t lucky to find Him. Just like Lucky wasn't lucky to find me. And we are loved enough to be found. Just like Lucky was loved enough to be found.

We live in a culture that loves the word luck. Lucky girl. Lucky break. Good luck charm. We credit coincidence. We credit timing. We even credit "the universe." I'm guilty of it, crediting luck with coincidence. But as I've grown stronger in my faith, and as believers I've learned it's not a coincidence at all. We serve a sovereign God. In case you're not familiar with the word sovereign... it means power and authority. A sovereign God means He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation. James 1:17 says, "whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens." It's not from luck. It's not from chance. It's not from coincidence. It's from above. What the world calls luck is actually... years of quiet obedience, prayers whispered when no one was watching, doors God closed that protected you, delays that refined you, and timing that only heaven could orchestrate. Was Ruth lucky when she "just so happened" to glean in Boaz's field? Was Esther lucky to be in the palace? No. They were positioned. There's a difference—luck says it was ransom, faith says it was ordained.

The "luck" happens to those who have god in their corner. When you recognize it was God you live differently. Walk differently. You carry gratitude instead of pride. When people tell me, "you're so lucky" I think am I? They didn't see the nights I wrestled with decision, the moves that stretched my faith, the risks that required trust, and the seasons that didn't look lucky at all. Luck will not sustain you through hard season, but God will.

So maybe what hasn't happened yet isn't bad luck. It's God still writing your story!

SHE Walks in Faith

Instead of saying, “I got lucky,” start saying, “God was faithful.” Watch how it shifts your perspective.

On this “unlucky” Friday the 13th, 🙄 choose to see God’s hand instead of superstition. Today, look back over your life and identify three things you once called luck—and thank God for them instead. Gratitude changes e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

🩷 Prayer

God, forgive me for the times I’ve credited luck instead of Your hand. Thank You for the doors You’ve opened, the ones You’ve closed, and the ones You’re still preparing. Help me trust that nothing in my life is random. Remind me that You are intentional, faithful, and always working behind the scenes. I don’t want to call it luck. I want to call it You. Amen.