Coincidence or Divine Providence?

Terrible, tragic things happen to good people all the time. Innocent people are killed in car accidents, wars, weather disasters, and hate crimes. When I hear of these things happening, it does seem as if God is far away and doesn't care about people at all. It seems most unfair when these things happen to people who are dedicated to Him and try to live according to His Word.

God tells people plainly in the Bible that an unspeakably evil creature exists whose only desire is to kill, steal, and destroy. If God really didn't care about people would there be ANY good in the world? What about the good things that happen? Don't they show that God truly does love us and wants us to be with Him forever in the afterlife?

When I think of all the times something really bad could have happened to me and didn't, it amazes me! Without a doubt, more good things have happened in my life than bad things. The following are some of the amazing coincidences that I've had or people have told me about that reinforce my faith in God.

A co-worker and her husband went on vacation to a busy city and she left her wallet that contained her passport and airline tickets in a taxicab. All the taxis looked alike but amazingly, they found the taxicab that contained her wallet and were able to recover it.

A young friend told me the true story of how she got out of California alive when she was 17 years old. She had hitchhiked from Detroit to San Francisco alone and slept in a public park the first night. The next day she met some people and one of the men said he could help her get a job. He had a van and they started driving down highway 101 near Big Sur. On their way to the interview, he suddenly turned into a deserted street and pulled her into the back of the van with the intent to rape her. She cried out: "please don't do this, please don't do this" and he stopped molesting her. He got back into the front seat and turned the van around. On the way back to the park in San Francisco, he got her talking about her home in Florida and she gave him her parent's phone number. When they got back he told her to wait on the park bench while he got some food. After awhile he came back and had a serious look on his face. She asked him "what's wrong?" and he said "I called your parents and your father said your mother is very ill and may die soon, you must come home immediately". The man said "your father has a plane ticket for you at the airport". He took her to the airport and she got on a plane to Tampa, Fl. When she arrived at the terminal, both her mother and father were waiting to take her home. Mere coincidence? I don't think so.

Recently, my sister who is on disability lost a large part of her income because she turned 65 and her long-term insurance policy ran out. After a brief search I was able to find affordable living arrangements for her in Jackson, TN and she loves living there!

Another time I believe God sent an Angel to rescue me was when I went camping by myself in a Tennessee State Park. I went hiking too late in the afternoon and somehow got off the trail and got lost in the woods. I finally found a road after an hour or so and a kind, elderly couple picked me up and took me back to the campsite. In their car I could hear some redneck men laughing loudly in a pickup truck as they passed us by. A chill went up my spine as I thought, "another minute on that road, and THEY could have picked me up instead of these nice people." Mere coincidence? I don't think so.

Two weeks ago my husband and I were on a hike in the Natchez Trace state forest with a group of people and he just missed stepping on a snake. I got a good picture of it and it looked like a rat snake, but it could have been a poisonous snake. 

God must have sent another Angel to save my husband and I from a bad car wreck at a busy intersection in Jackson, TN. It was a two-lane intersection and just as we turned, a car started to pull into the lane we were in. He almost hit us but at the last second he saw us and slammed on his brakes avoiding the collision.

Another friend told me about a time God saved her from dying in a car wreck when whe was driving drunk. She left a bar at midnight after drinking upside-down margaritas and had to drive down a two-lane road for about 20 miles to get back to the motel she was staying at. She said she saw two white lines down the middle of the road and has no idea how she made it back to her room without getting into a wreck, falling asleep, or driving off the road. She said she thought God must have sent an Angel to take the wheel of her car that night to get her back to her room safely.

What do you think? Do you have stories to tell about how God saved you or a friend from disaster? Please reply and share, we'd all love to hear them!