[Monday Meditations] Coincidence? I think not!"

=D Happy Monday y'all! Another week is upon us. Less than a month until Thanksgiving break, can I get an amen?

...

"Amen!"

Thank-you!

This is going to be a shorter Monday Meditation since my last one was long and I also want to have time to write more O'Neal girls. I'm thiiiis close to finishing up the last chapter or so of this new stuff I've been adding in. Technically I have 40+ chapters written and we are only at 20 something. However, I decided to add in some chapters so that's why I've been so slow at uploading chapters.

ANYWAYS

This was brought to my attention during one of my classes. The text I'm drawing from is Acts 17:14-34. The title for this meditation is: Coincidence? I think not!

hehe

Acts 17:14-34 is a long passage so here is some quick background I learned in class.

"(15)And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. (16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry."

Paul was doing his missionary work--travelling around and preaching the Gospel. Then, he was travelling and ended up in Athens. He was supposed to meet up with Timothy and Silas but for some reason, Paul ended up being stuck in Athens for some time while he waited for his pals.

Paul wasn't supposed to be in Athens, but God placed him there and gave him the opportunity to witness.

I think we all would agree that God is in control of every situation and nothing happens by chance or luck or fate. I always agreed to that statement, but I never really thought that nothing happens by chance. Nothing.

Paul was stuck in Athens but while he was stuck there, God allowed him to speak and share the Gospel. The first thing Paul noticed about Athens they they were "given to idolatry," They had no idea about the One True God. In verse 22, it says: " Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said..." Paul stood in front of thousands and preached unto them. He respectfully informed them of their sin and told them about God.

Here are the last three verses of the chapter. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."

People came to know Christ!

Paul didn't want to be in Athens and he surely didn't plan to be there, yet God worked it all out so that people could get saved!

Here are some modern day examples that I thought of.

• You get a flat tire and you're late to work: God might have protected you from an accident. Or maybe by changing the tire, you noticed another issue that you needed to fix.
• The cashier at the grocery store. God could use your witness to impact the life of your cashier. Even if you don't mention God or witness vocally, your attitude and actions could influence your cashier.
• A trip to the hospital. When my dad went to the emergency room this summer, my uncle told us he believed someone in that hospital needed my dad's witness that night. When my uncle said that, I got goosebumps over my arms. I had been angry all day that my dad was seriously injured, but then I realized how God is in control of every situation. I don't know if it happened, my dad could've influenced a nurse or one of his roommates. God had a purpose for my dad being there.

These are just some hypothetical ideas of how God uses "coincidences". They aren't coincidences though. God uses everything for good. I think of Joseph in Genesis. 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."

Remember this week that everything happens for a reason! God can use you in every situation.