A Roll Of The Dice

So I have been in the book of Proverbs recently in my devotions.  If you have never read through the book of Proverbs, it is a list of wise sayings.  There are so many great instructions in that book that it can become overwhelming as you read, because it seems like there is so much to learn.  But the point is not for us to be overwhelmed, but rather for us all to learn that true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord.

As I have been reading through the book I have noticed several wonderful wise proverbs that I had never really noticed before.  Some of them are very practical, while others caused me to pause and ponder them in greater depth.  One of my favorites that I came across today was Proverbs 16:33, “We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.”

That is such a profound thought.  So often we tend to think that we are in control of most everything in our lives, and that whatever we are not in control of is left up to chance.  But this proverb reminds us that ultimately it is God, not us, and not even chance, who is really in control.

It is really a powerful image of the roll of the dice.  We can picture a guy at a crap’s table in Las Vegas deciding whether or not to keep rolling the dice and then blowing on them and rolling them down the table hoping for a lucky number seven to come up.  When you think about it, that is often a picture of the way we live our lives.  We make decisions based on what we think or hope will happen, then we roll the dice, hoping that everything will come out the way we want.

But if we really understand this proverb, then we know that God is the one in control.  So a better process would be for us to be connecting with Him to find out what His will is for us and then trusting ourselves into His hands, instead of relying on chance.