What Are the Odds?

 

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." ~Matthew 19:26

Several weeks back Danny notices that one of our backgammon dice is slightly nicked on a corner.  That might seem like an insignificant issue, but any imperfection can affect how a die rolls on the playing board.  He decides to order new dice sets for us.  Mind you, these aren't just any old run-of-the-mill dice, but the very type used in world-wide backgammon championship tournaments.  Talk about upping our game!

We notice right away that the dice will do things we've never witnessed in our previous sets.  We can roll them as usual but at times, one of the other will actually tip up on a barely perceptible edge of a corner and stay there.  Quite the balancing act!  But the photo in the header takes the cake.

No, I don't stage these dice for photo drama.  These are exactly how they land, one neatly stacked on top of the other.  Amazed, I grab my cell phone to document this phenomenon to testify to the truth of what has impossibly happened.  Neither Danny nor I have ever seen anything to match such a stunt in all the years we've played backgammon.

What are the odds of that?  Just being a millimeter off would have made all the difference.

This past weekend marks the anniversary of the infamous assassination attempt made on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.  As those moments of uncertainty and dread are relived on the news, the undeniable truth becomes abundantly clear.

Because Donald Trump turns his head slightly, with intentions to focus the crowd on a huge chart depicting the drop in illegal border crossings during his last tenure a shot intended to end his life only grazes his ear.

A split second between life and death.

A millimeter of a difference.

How is it even possible that the shooter fails to hit his target?  He has training, experience, opportunity.  By human logic, he shouldn't have missed.

But God.

During those appallingly anxious moments, my first reaction is shock followed immediately by prayer.  My mind races back to memories of previous, gut-wrenching assassinations in our country's past.  In light of those outcomes, my heart fears the worst, and yet, still beats with hope as tears flow unchecked.

And then, the miracle!!!  President Trump is on his feet, his fist pumping the air, blood streaming down his face.  He's not just alive, he's full of life and fight.  What are the odds of that?

What more and more people, including Trump himself, have come to realize since that horrible day is that the God who makes the impossible possible intervenes at precisely the right place and the right time.  In spite of the many in this nation who disavow Him, the Lord still envisions this country as His shining city on a hill, and continually and lovingly calls us back to Himself.

My prayer, today and every day, is that all people in this nation will confess their sins, repent, and commit themselves, heart, soul, mind, and strength, to the One who always knows the odds.

And if we do, I'd say our odds couldn't be better.

Amen!