What are the odds?!
What was the chance that a New York woman would win the $1 million lottery prize twice? 1 in 3,669,120,000,000, according to the Associated Press.
What are the odds that you’ll be struck by lightning? 1 in 280,000, says the National Lightning Safety Institute.
What is the chance of becoming a celebrity, particularly one leading a double life? One in a million, figures Hannah Montana.
We often look at things that seem outlandish or far-reaching and marvel at the chances. Or we worry and Google how likely it is that certain bad things, like plane crashes or lightning strikes, will happen to us. But in doing so, we overlook some of the more simple things and take them for granted.
What’s the probability that I’ll wake up tomorrow morning?
How likely am I to receive an encouraging hug sometime this week?
What are the chances that I’ll feel content three months from now?
The thing that really got me going on this whole topic struck me when I was walking around campus one day. People often walk in groups with their friends, and every once in a while, you’ll get stuck behind some adorable couple holding hands. I started pondering about one particular couple in front of me and was struck by how many things would have to work together in order for them to be a couple.
This, of course, led me to think about the probability, or lack thereof, of forming any positive relationships at all.
“How do people become friends?!” I later asked one of my best friends.
“Uhhhh…” he started.
“First of all, you have to like that person. You have to be willing to accept their personality and not mind their faults. You have to be able to talk to one another. You have to have something in common,” I started ranting. I think he was starting to laugh at me at this point.
“And THEN,” I said anxiously, “they have to like you back!”
My mother was less impressed when I shared my marvelous discovery with her. “It’s not all chances and probability,” she said, reminding me- God has every second of our lives planned out. If he doesn’t want something to happen, it won’t happen.
If I wasn’t meant to be as close with my former roommate as I am, she would have been incredibly annoyed with my constant singing and humming (as opposed to eventually joining in). What are the chances that we’d share so many of the same interests and that we’d be able to have the wonderful hours-long chats that we do? Who knows? You can’t really put numbers and ratios on a specific plan that God has.
So I suppose it doesn’t matter what the chances are. I could have a terrible chance of getting a scholarship that will help me pay my way through school. But if God wants me at a particular school, chances and odds will be thrown by the wayside and it will happen.
This is a little bit alarming at first. If something that we consider “bad” is going to happen, it is 100% going to happen, and there’s not much we can do about it.
But what I’ve found encouraging is that looking at these probabilities is a wonderful reminder of our all-powerful, all-knowing God. There’s no odds or chances with Him. There’s just truth and there’s just trust.
A popular song that I love has been playing frequently on the radio lately. The lyrics speak of a man who is waiting to find the love of his life. And he’s excited about it!
The second verse starts:
“I might have to wait, I’ll never give up.
I guess it’s half timing, and the other half’s luck.
Wherever you are, whenever it’s right,
you’ll come out of nowhere and into my life.”
I’m always changing lyrics to songs so I can sing them to fit my life a little better (it drives my sister crazy. One band’s song about a “first kiss” becomes “We can never get too much of all of our Savior’s love, and if I had it my way, we would all give thanks and say ‘Wooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oooo.’” I really like the “woo” part, but none of the other original words.)
Anyway, I always change the aforementioned popular song to say something along the lines of, “I guess it’s half timing, and the other half’s trust.” I know it sounds like I don’t know the words, but I agree with half of the sentence and not the other. It’s definitely partially timing- just not mine. And it- whatever it is- isn’t happening haphazardly or as some random collision. It’s happening because the creator of the universe decided it would. And I need to trust that He’s got it right. He got me out of bed this morning. And through about two decades of life. And into college. And into different exciting opportunities. And into the wonderful circles of friends and family that I have, whose unconditional love and support made me ponder the probability of them liking me at all, much less that much.
He’s got it all worked out.
So what’s the probability that God’s good and perfect plan for our lives will be put into action? 100%. What’s the probability that I’ll always trust Him? Mmm, it’s significantly smaller. But I should. And it’s really comforting to know that I can.
