Is it Luck, Coincidence, or God? - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - March 20, 2026
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”—Psalm 19:1 (NIV)
I’m an animated storyteller on paper, and even more so in person. So, with a huge grin and exaggerated hand gestures, I told a friend about the time God gifted me with a brilliant rainbow right over this expansive green field where I walked every day in my neighborhood. The seven colors of the perfect arc in the sky were highly saturated, making it the brightest and most vivid full rainbow I had ever witnessed, and there was no rain in sight, not even a single cloud.
I pulled over my car and marveled at this magnificent creation as my salty tears of despair turned to sweet tears of relief and peace. Oh, there you are, God.
Let me reverse the story a bit so that you can get the full picture. Just a month before I stared at a rainbow from the side of the road, I suffered from an acute, rapid onset of postpartum psychosis. After my hospitalization, I was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. In the blink of an eye, my joyful and carefree days of relishing in new motherhood were replaced with the chaos and confusion of navigating the world of mental health.
My new normal consisted of doctor’s visits, therapy, and the company of a few friends and family members who stayed with me while my husband worked. And on this particular evening, there was a gap of a few hours of being alone with my baby son before my husband’s night shift ended. I dropped my niece off at her house and slowly made my way home. Halfway, I broke down in uncontrollable sobs as the anxiety welled in my chest. I confessed my fears to God as I gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
Lord, I can’t do this. I am terrified. I don’t want to be alone.
I made the left turn into my neighborhood, and there it was—the most beautiful promise of God’s undeniable proximity. I wasn’t going home alone; Jesus was already there.
A few years later, I passionately shared this story with a friend with all the hope and wonder of a wide-eyed girl who knew her Creator came down from heaven that night to comfort and sit with His exhausted and terrified daughter. Then my friend responded, “Or, it could have all been a coincidence.”
Well, that wasn’t the response I expected. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs. For a few minutes, I let doubt creep in and pondered whether it really was God’s answer to my prayer, a coincidence, or just luck. Did I imagine it all?
But then I responded, “No, that wasn’t a coincidence. That was my God showing up and showing off—hearing my prayer of fearfulness and comforting me with a divine hug. And that’s not the only testimony I have to tell. There’s a whole lot of Good News left to share.”
I felt a little sorry for my friend that day. She didn’t know God as I know Him. Through years of refinement, God had gifted me with eyes and ears that see and hear Him moving when others can’t. I’ve enjoyed many more conversations with other beautiful believers who see and hear Him this way, too. Everyone has different names for these divine occurrences, like breadcrumbs or God winks, and the accounts of God’s goodness are nothing short of miraculous.
Mere humans can’t begin to explain or fathom God’s ways, but we often feel the need to try. I am certainly guilty of this at times. As believers, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. Our faith enables us to see and know things others can’t.
Scripture confirms the precision and perfection of God’s divine providence. Revelation 22:13 explains God’s absolute sovereignty, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” We can rest assured that He’s got it handled from the beginning to the end and every moment in between. Nothing is a coincidence.
Friend, Jesus is the answer. He is the reason and the explanation for all the little happenstances that we humans try to rationalize. We can choose to live with the hope of heaven in our hearts, believing in His miraculous ways, and knowing full well that God has already ordained every second of our lives.
Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your divine providence and for ordering my steps. Grant me peace, knowing You are in complete control, working all things for Your good and for the good of those who love You. Give me eyes and ears that always notice the people You place in my path, that I may share my testimony with them for Your glory. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/grafxart8888
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Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
