Time and chance

Ecclesiastes 9:11 “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all”.

In the passage of life, we will experience the good, the bad and the downright ugly. We will pass through the proverbial eye of the needle, we will also experience breakthroughs and marvelous testimonies. Life is about highs and lows, curves and straight roads, valleys and mountains, hell and hills.

Examples of Good experiences - having a child, grandchildren, getting married, new or better job, admission in schools, surviving an accident, having good health, food on your table, clothes on your back

Examples of Bad situations - losing a loved one, job, failing health, marital issues or outright breakdown of a marriage

Examples of Ugly situations - can't pay your debt, raise enough capital for business, meet up with social, matrimonial or family demands

But in all of these, for the child of God, there is the hand of the divine orchestrating things in the physical for our good. The act of living makes it difficult for us to understand if some experiences are in fact good, bad or just ugly. What we call good, might in fact not be, what we call bad or ugly might as well be the best thing that ever happened to us. Only the spirit of discernment or hindsight makes us appreciate the hand of the divine in the material.

When faced with the vicissitudes of life, what we as children of God need to pray for, is the wisdom to appreciate the good, the courage to face and overcome the bad, the determination to turn the ugly into something beautiful while not compromising on the word, principles and will of the almighty God.

We can learn a few lessons from biblical characters and their experiences. The bible is for our admonition, instruction and direction. It was God that allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery so that he can save many people alive.

Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive”.

It was God the made the asses of Kish the father of Saul to get lost so that Saul could meet with Prophet Samuel and be anointed King over Israel. It was God that allowed Job to go through the throes of death that he might show his awesomeness as the deliverer and restorer. It was God that allowed Esther become queen of Persia to save God's people from Haman. It was God that allowed the blind man in John 9 to be born blind to manifest His works through Christ.

Sometimes when God is working in us and for us, it might look like the devil has finally conquered us but if you can stay in faith and wait on God, the latter part will always be glorious.

The word interpreted as time in Ecclesiastes 9:11 above can also be interpreted as experience. In the course of time we will have very many experiences that will shape our lives. No experience is useless!! You might not see it immediately but everything you go through in live is for a purpose. It is for a time! The earlier you get that purpose from the experience, the better.

The word chance can also be interpreted as opportunity. We are made up of our experiences and the opportunities we took or missed. Everyone gets an opportunity at some point but only the prepared take it.

Zig Ziglar said “Success is where opportunity meets preparation”.

It was time and chance that happened to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Babylon. Though they went through the fire and lion's den, God was preparing them for the next level of leadership in a strange land. 

The time of preparation may seem tortuous, painful, unrewarding, long and even injurious but it becomes a blessing when opportunity comes knocking.
E.g. Time in school, preparing for a professional exam, learning a trade or new skill. That time is not wasted, rather is your preparation for the opportunity. Seize it with both hands, learn the best you can in the season of the valley for the opportunity of the mountain top is around the corner. It is what you learn in the valley that will sustain you on the mountain.

Know this, as a child of God you will get good breaks in life, time and chance will happen to you. What you need to do is to stay in faith. The devil being evil and wicked will always want to steal our joy, peace and progress but he has already failed. Colossians 2:15 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Jesus has won the victory and given same to us. 

Bishop Sam Chidoka

March 2017