Does Everything Happen for a Reason

You’ve heard the trope: “everything happens for a reason.” This is not a markedly Christian saying, but rather tends to mean whatever is happening will somehow work out in my favor. We say stuff like this to tell ourselves that fate is not against us, but is somehow on our side. It helps us sleep.

Life is fragmented and random at times. Things happen to us that we’d never imagine and the life we thought we’d have eludes us. To ballast ourselves we crave a sense of sovereign direction. Some call it the universe or fate, while others will say it’s God. 

It’s God.

We started Nehemiah this week as a church, and as I read and studied and prayed, one aspect of his life stood out to me: he was supernaturally in the right place at the right time. He was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the man who held the destiny of God’s people in his hands. King Art could do whatever he wanted with the Jews, but here you have Nehemiah right next to him as a trusted confidant and advisor. Nehemiah asks to go lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and King Art says yes.

It was God.

God placed Nehemiah there. This isn’t serendipity or chance. No, the sovereign Lord of the universe put this man right where he was so he could advocate for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He put Nehemiah there to stand as a priestly presence between God and the people — though he was not a priest, but a regular guy with a non-church job.

Nehemiah’s life and job happened for a reason. God meant to use them for the glory of His name and the good of His people. 

Don’t you think the same goes for you? 

You live where you live, work where you work, and know who you know for a reason. We are so caught up in improving our status and station in life that we miss the intentionality of God right where we are. If you’re a Christ-follower, you’re a missionary right here, right now. And while some of us are called to leave everything and go to a foreign land, many more of us are called to stay and be a minister of reconciliation in Argyle, Lewisville, Denton…you get the idea. 

So while we cannot with great clarity answer the question of “why God?” to everything that happens in our lives, we can rest in the sovereign placement of our lives — and the divine purpose. We can see the cross of Christ, knowing the heart of God is missional and sacrificial. And we can take up our cross, seeking to embody the love of Jesus.

Go advocate for Jesus and His kingdom right in the middle of your ordinary life. Because it is, in fact, happening for a reason.