Just a Coincidence?

This coming Friday (April the 30th), Downtown Culpeper will be transformed from 6-10pm into a festival celebrating Latino culture aka “CULPEPER FIESTA”. There is food, live music, professional dancers in traditional costumes, and more. Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike have a great time together. Kathy and I have been to Culpeper Fiesta several times over the past few years, and we thought this would be a great opportunity for us to serve our community with the love of God. The River often gives away freshly made Cuban Coffee (or Café Cubano) at various community events.

I tried tracking down someone who was in charge of the event but had no “luck”.

On this last April Fools Day (Thursday, April 1, 2010), I wrote on the Facebook wall of Culpeper Fiesta, asking for someone to get in contact with me regarding this request to give out free Cuban Coffee.

After writing on their wall, I headed off to my part-time job at the Culpeper Library. It was a normal, hectic day, when out of the blue, someone approached the circulation desk and asked me if she could post a flyer.

The flyer looked very familiar.

It was a flyer for Culpeper Fiesta, and the woman holding it was one of the organizers.

She hadn’t known about my plea on Facebook just a few hours earlier.

Just a coincidence?

I constantly run into people who share similar stories. You probably experienced a few yourself. Where does this stuff come from?

Coincidence is defined by Wikipedia as, “The word is derived from the Latin co - ("in", "with", "together") and incidere ("to fall on")”

My loose translation? “To fall together.”

Our plans sometimes “fall apart”, but God is not surprised by anything.
The Bible teaches that God not only created everything, but he pays attention to details of life that we are completely unaware of; down to even counting our hairs.

John 5:17 states that Jesus said to (the religious teachers), “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

Knowing that God is not at rest but is actively at work in our world should give us joy! The big question is “Where is He at work around me, so I can join in with what He is doing.”


Related Verses
Matthew 10:28-31
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Job 38:1-41
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’

“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!

“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.) Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

“Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew? Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

“Can you direct the movement of the stars— binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?

“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket? Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?