Am I Here by Chance?

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

This famous quote, spoken by Humphrey Bogart in the movie Casablanca, speaks of a circumstance which is often labeled as “chance.”  

Have you ever asked yourself, “Who am I and what am I doing here?  Is all of this by chance?”   No need to wonder, God knows exactly who you are, why you’re here and what you’re supposed  to be doing.  In the subtleties of His word we find some of the bigger answers to life.  

      Heb 1:1-2 (KJV)  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…”

A major key to opening this scripture for greater understanding is the word “worlds.”  Being defined as “ages, time, and continuum” by various Bible dictionaries and concordances, we see that this word and scripture are speaking of time as God has created it to unfold.  The word continuum means “a series of events occurring in succession, leading from the past to the present and even into the future; all of human history."  Knowing that God sent prophets to speak into each time period, as stated in verse 1, we see that He has intentionally laid out the time periods for our world and He knows the events and purposes of each time period.  If we look at the Bible from this perspective our purpose in God’s creation becomes much clearer.

A continuum, or time line, is connected not only by time itself, but by events on the time line.  The events unfold in order and one event leads to another.  Inside of those events are people who move the events forward and become the catalysts for moving the time line forward through their participation in the events.  In this we see the great purposes of God unfolding in the earth, each event driven along by the people God has placed here, each with a specific gift or talent to participate in the events He’s placed on the time line, making history in God’s timing!

      There are no insignificant persons on the timeline; each of us is connected to those in the past and those who are to come in that we stand shoulder to shoulder on His continuum for His purposes and glory.  He has given us our spot on the continuum, this is proven out in many scriptures, but specifically in Acts 17:26 (AMP), “And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes)…”

      What a glorious revelation-God has me here for a specific purpose, in His timing, to give Him glory!  In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). 

      Supporting scriptures: 

     Rev. 13:8  The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (the beginning of the timeline)

      Eph. 2:10  We are God’s workmanship, created for good works which he has prepared in advance

      Gal. 4:3-5  In the fullness of time, God sent his son, at just the right spot on the timeline

      1 Cor. 12:27-31 Each member of His body has great importance and purpose.