By Bro. Paxton
My word of the month is Serendipity. Dictionary.com defines serendipity as an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. In other words, serendipity can be described as having good things happen to you as an OUTCOME without you knowing it from the BEGINNING. The origin of the word came around 1754 from the English author, Horace Walpol. He formed it from a Persian fairy tale called "The Three Princes of Serendip" (Serendip was an old name for Ceylon, which is now called Sri Lanka). In this story, the heroes were always making discoveries by accident when they were not looking for them.
I chose this word because to me it is a good description of the lives of those that follow Jesus. Our lives are full of serendipity. There have been many times I have prayed to God before making a big decision in my life and He has told me which way to go. When I went another way, I suffered more than I had to, but when I went the way He told me I found out that in the end I was better off than I could have possibly dreamed.
One such occasion happened when I left the Marine Corps and was faced with a decision about what I was going to do next. I had several choices: I could take a lucrative job in Iraq doing what I was trained to do in the military, I could take a not so lucrative job doing something similar in a nice part of the current state I lived in, or I could go to the university in my hometown and finish my Bachelor’s Degree in computer science. This was a hard decision for me because, although I eventually wanted to finish school, it wasn’t number one on my priority list. I wanted to make more money as soon as possible. When I asked God to guide my footsteps and to place me on the right path, His answer was for me to go and finish school. At first this was an extremely hard decision. I had bills to pay and for about six months I didn’t have a job. Times were hard and even though I did believe in what God told me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had heard God correctly. Now, I know this wondering delayed my process. A friend told me to put in for a scholarship, but I was reluctant because it wasn’t exactly in my field of study. During this time I continued to pray and ask God to deliver me from this storm. I knew it was Him that put me on this path and that He would bring me out. One day He told me to apply for the scholarship even though it wasn’t in my field. To make a long story short, not only did I get the scholarship, but the principle investigator of the scholarship also gave me a job that sustained me until I graduated and set the stage for me to obtain more scholarships once I went to graduate school. If I had not wondered about what God told me and applied for the scholarship earlier I would not have had to suffer for those six months without a job or steady cash flow – but thank God for second chances! When I repented and asked Him to help me, He reminded me of the scholarship and I believed I was going to get it!
Everyone has the choice to live a life of Serendipity. All we have to do is believe in Jesus, ask God to order our steps, and have FAITH that He IS going to give you a good outcome! We have to understand that our way is not always God’s way, and that God’s way is always the right way! I am sure I’m not the only one that can look back on decisions that were tough and say, "only God could have predicted this outcome!" And if you are still in your storm, hold on to what God has told you and remember Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."