Time and Chance

The Almighty's Time and Chance

Most of us have come across
Ecclesiastes 9: 11, in which king Solomon said,

"I have seen something else under the sun: 
The race is not to the swift 
or the battle to the strong, 
nor does food come to the wise 
or wealth to the brilliant 
or favor to the learned; 
but time and chance 
happen to them all."

While the verse of Scripture holds true and everyone can relate to it from one life experience or the other, the Truth that time and opportunity ultimately affects the outcome or success of every endeavour, has caused many to ponder that "if such major factors are not under man's control, then why bother puting in any effort?"

Gods "set time" and "window of opportunity", are the "God Factors" in life that remind us that we need God in everything we embark upon. 
These factors help us appreciate the Sovereignty of God Almighty and therefore His ability to wade into the matters of men at will.

In Romans 9: 15, God said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

God's mercy and compassion is the only wild card or short cut that the disadvantaged majority in the world we live in - rely upon.

God, by His mercy and compassion for the less fortunate and those who have sought a constant loving relationship with Him, suspends natural laws and conventions to favour the lost, needy, faithful and poor, so that mankind will come to the understanding of the eternal truth that man shall not live by works but by faith in Him - for good success in all of life's endeavours.

God may have made one man swift and allowed the other to be slow but because of His sovereign will or His reply to the cry of the lost, needy, poor or faithful, He'll organize a miracle that will change the status quo.
Earths physical laws and conventions dictate that "a race be to the swift and the success of a battle be to the strong," but since He is the God of the physical and spiritual, earthly and human facts give in to Biblical truths; the ephemeral gives in to the eternal.

Success in God's scheme of things is not just by human effort but by understanding and taking advantage of the Time and Chance God makes available.

Now don't get me wrong. Everything has it's place in life. 
Excellence in one's endeavour also has a place in God's scheme of things.

Swiftness, Strength, Wisdom, and Brilliance are all things God desires that we work towards and excel in, but His creation must build up these qualities of excellence that He alone be glorified, as in Matthew 5: 16, where it is written, "... let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Hebrews 11: 39 - 40, talks about how our forefathers of the faith, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, the parents of Moses, Moses himself, the people of Israel that crossed the red sea on dry land, Rahab the prostitute, the prophets, etc, were all commended for their faith, even though none of them received what had been promised, because God had planned something better for them so that only together with them would it be made perfect.

Therefore, all the better things that God had planned for us so that only together with us could they be made perfect requires our own faith for it to be established. 
What that means is that we have a part to play in God's scheme of things, in God's good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives, and the first effort God requires from us is just simplyour faith in buying into the promises He made concerning His people in the Holy Writ through Jesus Christ.

Apart from God's sovereign use of Time and Chance in our lives, that is, Gods day of visitation and Open heavens; is our own Preparation for it. 
Our Faith in Jesus to achieve godly success in our lives, that will ultimately glorify Him is the most important part of the Preparation between time, chance and fulfillment,... so let's be faithful.