GODWINKS
By: C. Mason Davis
A senior citizen drove his brand-new Corvette convertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he floored it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little gray hair he had left. Amazing, he thought as he flew down I-94, pushing the pedal even more. Looking in his rear-view mirror, he saw a state trooper behind him, lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, what am I doing? I'm too old for this and pulled over to await the trooper's arrival. Pulling in behind him, the trooper walked up to the Corvette, looked at his watch, and said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a good reason for speeding that I've never heard before, I'll let you go." The old gentleman paused. Then he said, "Years ago, my wife ran off with a state trooper. I thought you were bringing her back." "Have a good day, sir," replied the trooper.
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
When things happen in your Christian walk of faith and you say to yourself what a coincidence, but you should know that it’s not, it is the right hand of God working in your life. You desperately needed money for groceries and while cleaning you find 20 dollars. You find five dollars and a homeless person asks you for money. You randomly evangelize to someone, and they say before you told me about Jesus, I was going to kill myself. Your car breaks down and you come across a good Samaritan who happens to be a mechanic. When you go through suffering, remember it’s never meaningless. It is God’s hand that is in your life. When we overcome trials because God helped us and as time passes on and we go through another trial and our adversaries try to discourage us by making us think it was just a coincidence. But it was God and He will never forsake me.” Give God thanks because often He helps us without us even realizing it. It is no coincidence that He answers prayers at the right time. How great is our God and how awesome is His love! God’s plans will stand. Even when we mess up, God can turn bad situations into good ones.
Godwink: What is a Godwink? It is a new word for those little coincidences that aren’t coincidence but come from divine origin. Godwinks are always a sign of hope.
When life gets confusing, stressful, or even tragic, you may wonder if God sees or cares about you. Then what seems like a coincidence or answered prayer enters your life and changes it for the better. These personal touches don’t happen just by chance. They’re messages sent directly from God to you – winks from a loving Father who wants you to know He’s watching over you. He is constantly with you no matter what you’re doing or where you are. He knows all!
There are innumerable ways you can recognize when God is winking at you. For example, try a test. Even if you’re not sure that God exists, decide to act as if He does, telling Him that you’d like Him to reveal Himself to you. Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Try placing your trust in His existence, then look for communication from Him. Know that He will be faithful to respond if you’re sincere in your desire to know Him. Listen to messengers and be one yourself. Expect that God will use other people as unwitting messengers of His encouragement to you in many situations – and that He will use you as a messenger for others, as well. Whenever people are kind to you, consider how God might be reaching out to you through those acts of kindness. As often as you can, treat others with kindness to encourage them. Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. Pay close attention to how God may choose to validate His presence through any situation in your life. Understand that God reveals Himself not just in momentous, watershed events, but also in small, mundane moments. Remember, He always sees you and is always with you. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Dig into your memories. Take some time to recall moments in the past when you experienced “coincidences” or answered prayers. Consider how those events were timed just right to assure you that you’re not alone in this world and thank God for communicating with you when you needed to hear from Him. So, embrace hope. No matter what your current circumstances or feelings, choose to have faith and belief in God and His promises to you. Know that your hope will help you see God’s winks more clearly, and inspire others to decide to hope, as well. After God gives you renewed hope, spread the hope around.
Consider the big picture and remember that God’s perspective is much bigger than yours. During times of loss, let your grief spur you on to look for winks that show you that you’ll be okay. Know that in the big picture, everything does make sense. Trust that God will take even the worst situation in your life and bring something good out of it if you invite Him to do so. Embrace his comfort. During times of uncertainty and transition, be alert and open to God’s winks of comfort. Let them remind you that He is constantly with you on your journey through life. Job 42:2 says, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Confirm that prayer works. Recognize that God’s winks are evidence that prayer has real and strong power to change your life. Let the winks you experience motivate you to continue to pray, especially when you realize that He answers your prayers. Your prayers may not be answered right away because it’s in His time, not yours. See the blessing hidden inside unanswered prayers. Recall the times when you’ve prayed for something, yet didn’t receive it, despite your strong desire for it. Consider from your current vantage point how God’s decision not to answer those prayers was actually the wisest choice. For example, if a job you wanted fell through, committing to that job may have prevented you from getting a better one. Or, if a romance didn’t work out, you may be able to tell, in time, that the person you’d thought was right for you is actually wrong for you. Recognize that unanswered prayers are often God’s way of moving you from one direction to another so you can walk on the best path.
Consider the timing. Understand that God will often wink at you just in the nick of time to either to deliver you from misfortune or disaster, or to give you good news when you need it most. Remember that God is never late. Look for winks in your relationships with family, friends, a spouse, kids, and even animals. Know that God is pleased when your kind to everybody in your life, even your family members. In Matthew 10:20, “For it won't be you doing the talking - it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
There are the various ways God speaks to us. Through an audible voice, angelic visitations, visions and dreams, signs and miracles, coincidences, through the living word, people, media, creation and nature, our conscience, but His written word is the main way God speaks to us. God’s wisdom will be proven through results.
Some say that coincidence is when God works a miracle and chooses to remain anonymous. But the truth is that there are no such things as coincidences or luck, but instead, they are blessings from God. The definition of a coincidence is an example of two things relating to each other or having some connection that was unexpected. Or of events it gives the appearance of a meaningful connection when there is none. But if God Is the cause, then there are no coincidences, it’s more of a Godwink and a blessing. Are coincidences good? For many people coincidences are “all good.” If you look long enough, you can probably find a positive outcome. When you find a coincidence comes into your life, take it and try to use it as it seems to better your life, but if something negative develops, then stop, backtrack, and try to find another direction for to see and use that Godwink to find a positive conclusion. Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
All coincidences have to do with probability. Pretty much any event or object in our lives has the power to generate coincidences. It's just that we don't notice the vast majority because we’re not paying attention to “Why.” Both fate and coincidence are two things that cannot be controlled by humans. The key difference between fate and coincidence is that fate is considered to be predetermined or planned by a divine power, whereas coincidence, as seen by us, seems accidental and unplanned.
Perhaps you can find His purpose for you if you’ll be patient, turn to the Bible, pray for direction, follow His will, accept His promises, try harder to live a purpose driven life, and whenever possible apply His word in your life. Live the life you’re meant to live through Him. God will not send just one wink into your life, but He’ll keep trying repeatedly until you recognize that these repeated signs are from Him. He won’t just send you one wink and forget you till you figure things out. He’ll keep trying to get, then keep your attention and love. 1 Corinthians 3:10: “But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God's deepest secrets.”
Remember that God will speak to you in different ways at different times. You have to be listening! Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.” God has a plan for us all. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, so He chooses to speak to us in different ways. For some people, God speaks through the Bible even if they do not read it. Others hear Him as they quietly pray or meditate on His Word. He can communicate with you in so many ways, and everyone has a different way God speaks to them. With a Godwink, He can create coincidental events to help you notice, more easily, what He is saying to you. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
The Holy Spirit is an active guide in our daily lives. Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” The Lord speaks to us through many means: the Bible, prayer, and nature (the things we see and feel). You may not hear Him with your ears, but God can indeed speak to you. In fact, He talks to you every day. Whenever you have to decide between right and wrong, He speaks. Whenever you need guidance and wisdom, He also speaks. God also speaks whenever you need strength and comfort. To hear God, you must keep your heart pure. Repent and ask forgiveness for your sins. Do your best to live a life according to His Word. The Bible is not just a self-help book. So, whenever you study God’s Word, you are listening to His instructions on how you should live your life in a way that you will experience His blessings.
Have you ever experienced being reminded of the same verse again and again? If a certain Bible verse keeps appearing in front of you wherever you go, consider it as a sign. The Lord may be using that verse as a reminder or warning about your current situation. If you keep getting the same verse, pray and ask God to open your eyes to what He wants to show you. Meditate on the verse and find out how it applies to your circumstance. Sometimes, God allows you to go through the same situation several times to help you learn a lesson.
Have you ever attended a church service, and the preaching made you uncomfortable? If you ever feel like the preacher is talking directly to you, it is actually God speaking through that person. If the sermon or a highlighted passage makes you guilty of your sin and gives you that desire to change, it means that the Holy Spirit is at work in you. That is why, whenever you are in church, it is important to listen attentively to the sermon. Then, own the message you hear and figure out how you can apply it in your life. This is why my sermons are relatable to the way we live today.
John Thomas Oaks is musician in NYC. On a chilly November, in Manhattan, he was playing at the Starbucks Café on 51st & Broadway. He noticed a lady in chair swaying & singing along with “If You Don’t Know Me by Now.” Afterwards, she apologized for singing. John asked if she would like to sing the next selection. She asked if he knew any hymns. John picked His Eye Is on the Sparrow. Everyone in Starbucks listened attentively as they sang: "I sing because I’m happy, sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the sparrow & I know He watches me." The people in Starbucks gave her thunderous applause. She turned to John and said, “It’s funny you picked that hymn. It was my daughter’s favorite. She was 16. She died last week of a brain tumor. I’m gonna be OK. I keep trusting the Lord & singing His songs.” Was all this just a coincidence of time, place, people, and a hymn? Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Hardly, if you believe in how God intervenes in our lives at just the right moment. God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time. No coincidence He found just right place for us to land. Even for a grieving mom in Starbucks, a struggling musician, and coffee drinkers. Life seems to be full of coincidences. I really believe that life is full of Godwinks. That is where God reveals Himself to us through His mighty works, marvelous wisdom, and matchless ways.
Do you believe in coincidences? What do you think about things that just seem to “line up” just right? Consider a few of the more incredible coincidences from American history. Things get weirder. John Wilkes Booth’s brother Edwin Booth once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s oldest son Robert. For his part, Robert Lincoln went on to be present at two later presidential assassinations, those of James Garfield and of William McKinley. Robert Lincoln joked, “there is a certain fatality about the presidential function when I am present.”
Another set of circumstances that are about two men from different centuries, but cross over to each other’s century in such a way that to call it all circumstance would be rediculously inaccurate. Let’s call this a comparison between two former Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy.
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost a child while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.
Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.
Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.
Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was seen with Marilyn Monroe.
Lincoln was shot in a theater and the assassin ran to a warehouse...
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and the assassin ran to a theater.
It’s pretty amazing how these two have so many coincidental facts in common, a hundred years apart. The thing about statistics is, if you gather enough, you'll find a coincidence, or many of them. But are they really coincidence, or Godwinks? Matthew 19:26 “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which He created them, cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do, and directs them to fulfill His purposes. Call it, “God’s deliberately engineered twists of heavenly serendipity.”
The Bible always affirms that “random” events are always attributed to the Lord. “Acts of God” are really acts of God. There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. You and I can have supreme confidence that God is bringing about every detail of our lives to accomplish His purposes of glory to Himself, and good to us. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” We must trust in Him! But heed this warning: this doesn’t mean that everything that comes easy in life is an open door from God. For example, “Men worry about time, but God only concerns Himself with timing.”
The next time something coincidental happens to you, just look up to the heavens to see if you can see God winking at you. Try to find the meaning behind the coincidence you just shared with another. Start looking for the meaning and message of what just occurred so you can use the moment to better yourself, to better your life, to better someone else’s life, and you can become closer to God, and that’s no winking matter. Matthew 19:26 states, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” It is my prayer for all of you is that God is winking at you now, and often. Amen!
