The other day my niece, Jessie Rae, told me, “I’m beginning to believe more in miracles and less in coincidence.” That got me thinking about the role of chance in the plan of God.

The universe is unfolding second by second, now over billions of years. Things are changing constantly. Conditions influence the course of events. Inanimate objects and living things are constantly moving in accord with the natural laws of physics and animal instincts. Thus the occurrence of events is, at the same time, independent and relational. And when it comes to human life, there is the element of free will, the most powerful of human capabilities. Moment to moment human beings in every part of the world are making decisions that will change the course of their lives and the lives of those around them.

For example, a physical occurrence: What was the likelihood that an object from outer space would strike the earth at a precise moment in its development in the precise way to cause it to spin in a wobbly manner around the sun, produce the seasons, and at the same time send matter into space that would coalesce to form the moon?

And another example, a human accomplishment: What was the likelihood that Bill W., a recovering alcoholic from New York, on a random business trip in Akron with things not going well and no family or friends to turn to, knowing that he could stay sober if he only could talk to another alcoholic, would find an active alcoholic of the caliber of Dr. Bob and hit it off so well that they would start a movement that has helped millions of alcoholics to stop drinking?

In the Good Book, St. Paul says, for those who love God all things work together for good. I believe that God can and does use any and every circumstance, good or bad, for our benefit. There is no doubt that every occurrence in our lives is, at one and the same time, coincidental and part of God’s plan.

In what way would God’s power be more wondrously displayed: if God were to manipulate everything down to the tiniest detail with all the terrible and catastrophic events of destruction and injustice; or is God’s power even more magnificent and wonderful when out of the haphazard catastrophe, and even out of the malicious and willful injustice, God’s healing, compassion, re-creation and redemption are able to overcome the forces of evil and accomplish the plan and purpose of creation: to display the oneness, the truth, the love, the goodness, and the totally present being of God.

While we have been created in the image and likeness of God, endowed with intelligence, judgment, and freedom of choice to be more conscious and intentional about our lives, one of the greatest uses of these creative endowments is to take advantage of every incidental happening and turn it into an opportunity for growth, progress, and well being for one’s self and for others.

If we can do this, we will be imitating one of the most wonderful characteristics of the Creator: to use coincidence and chance to create miracles of new life.