Demystifying Randomness

No event under the sun is ever isolated. I see the notion of randomness as utterly implausible. There is always an underlying purpose behind the cause and then the ripple effect as a result. This I believe is because God is never random. Look at the unfolding of events through the bible. Nothing that ever happens is as a result of randomness. The bible is a living embodiment of this. There is never a series of isolated events.

I would like to explore this notion particularly focused on the life of Esther. The book of Esther opens as the king, Xerxes was having a banquet. The king calls for the Queen Vashti who was holding her own banquet for women in the inner court to present herself before him with her crown, for she was extremely beautiful. At a glance, it is easy to think of this as a random request from the King with no impact and effect whatsoever to the greater picture. The Queen defies the king which makes him angry and he calls for his council. What happens next is an extreme escalation of events. The Queen is stripped of her post and the king embarks on a mission to find another queen. The thing that got me about this is that Esther and Mordecai are living their own lives with no knowledge on what's about to happen next. It's amazing how God paved a way for Esther to get to the palace and He made provision for what she needed before she met the king. Is it random that out of all her relatives, Mordecai adopted Esther? Is it random that at the very same time Vashti defied the king and was stripped of her title, Esther was ready for marriage? Is it random that Esther found favor in the eyes of the chief Eunuch? All these go to show that what might seem like a single moment to us, in our misfortunes and in our lives is a build up to a greater plan and purpose.

After Esther was queen, there rose a new Prime minister, Haman who wanted to destroy the Jews. Through Mordecai, Esther learns of the decree to destroy the Jews and she is called to action as she has to beg the king to save the Jews. You can read more about it in the book of Esther. What got me about this is that even before the Jews knew that there was going to be danger, their potential demise, God knew and He had already made provision in the form of Esther. What might seem like something small and insignificant in one season, can turn to be the very means through which God transforms lives in the next season.

I am learning more and more how God never calls any season in vain. Nothing is ever random with Him. Which is great news for us because we have the guarantee that no matter what we go though he has gone on ahead and made provision for what we never thought we'd need and protected us from what trouble we never perceived would exist. It's amazing really how He could use all things to work for our own good.

So if you're in a season you don't particularly understand, be thankful hard as it might be. His word says,"6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7. It is always the case that the hard situations that we rarely understand are a build up to transforming not only our life, but the lives of all those we will come into contact with. Stand firm, be persistent! God has already gone ahead and made provision for all that you need even if you don't perceive your need for it right in that moment. My mom always reiterated this verse when things didn't seem to make sense and I only started understanding it's significance now, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Psalm 37:25. God will never let us go to the point of no return because it goes against the very nature of who He is as our loving Father.