The randomness of God

King Ahab had the judgement of the Lord coming upon him. Due to his aberrance from God’s law, a nation was idolatrous, blood had been shed, and God was forgotten. God had pronounced an impending end to Ahab, and it was only a matter of time for the divine decree to be fulfilled.
On a certain day, the 2 kings, Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah, were embattled with the forces of Aram. Ahab apprehensive about his fate in the battle had disguised himself by wearing plain clothes. Customarily the king went to battle in kingly robes. It served a two-fold purpose, encouraging the troops to bravado and solidarity, whilst challenging the opposition. Ahab, being out of costume was in effect transparent to the enemy. Ben-Hadad the Aramean king had instructed his fighters to seek the king, and this they did. They pursued Jehoshaphat, who was dressed in his kingly robes, thinking they had their man. Fortunately for him, his assailants discovered that this wasn’t the king of Judah and they withdrew. Shortly thereafter, the notorious king Ahab was struck, but oddly enough it wasn’t intentional. 2 Chronicles 18:33 state, “But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor”. This random act of providence was actually a sovereignly directed assault. What appears to be a co-incidence often to us humans has been ordained by God. Granted other forces may be at play, chance, the forces of evil, and natural consequences unleashed by our own actions. Yet ultimately this scripture challenges us to accept the fact that nothing is by chance or “random”. And that these events are allowed or even initiated by God. The odds that a plain clothed person would be hit, by a random arrow, in the vulnerable portion of the armor is unbelievably rare. The writer might as well have said God allowed the arrow to hit its mark. The accuracy of this random arrow much like that of David’s stone slung in Goliath’s skull, evidences God at work.
Be encouraged that God is always working. Even when your plans fail, and things seem hopeless. A “lucky” break, a chance meeting or a random event could change things completely for you. Let God be God in your life. As you demonstrate your faith and trust in him by putting him first in all things, he will work out the necessary random events to align your life towards his intended goal.