I Don't Believe in Luck

Some people believe in luck; I don’t. I believe in wisdom and work, empowered with faith to build a boat that catches providential wind.

I remember the first time I bought a lottery ticket. I’ve only ever done this twice.

I remember all the thoughts that raged around in me.

‘What would I do with all the money if I won?’

Slowly, actually it was very fast, my soul’s attention shifted from a ‘God providence’ to a ‘Luck providence’.

A lustful desire exploded in me to see my wants met in my way.

Oh yes, I tarted it up by saying I would give some away, but all along there was a powerful pull away from a focus on God meeting my every need (Philippians 4:19) to one of a bouncing ball in a wire cage.

I’ve seen the gripped attention some people have as they wait and watch to see if they have won.

It’s like they have been captured by some sort of enchantment. A spell has captured their soul.

I don’t believe in luck.

When I do, I find myself moving into the territory of jealousy, envy, idolatry, entitlement, demanded-ness, lust, and comparsionitis.

Anger and despair are positioned just on the other side of those doors to greet me when the enchantment spell wears off.

When I focus on luck, I move away from the contentment that comes from enjoying the gifts of providence.

Keep your lives free from the love of money, [and anything that money can buy] and be content with what you have;
for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ Hebrews 13:5

It’s to see a forbidden fruit on a tree in the neighbour’s backyard, lust after it, and move away from the abundant orchard that you are already in. Seeing, desiring, and putting your hopes in a flimsy narrative.

It’s to consider the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but when you jump the fence, you see that it’s greener because it’s grown on bullshit and now you’re sinking into its swamp.

I believe in wisdom and work

Providence, at this time in my life, has brought me to live right next to a beach. (Lucky?, No, providential)

I often look out into the bay and see sailing boats, large and small, traversing the sea under the power of wind.

I admire the sailors of sailboats.

They have to have skill and wisdom.

I particularly admire those sailors who build a boat, maybe in their backyard or shed. It may take years of craftsmanship and working of wood or other materials.

They have a plan, a design. There is wisdom in knowing how to make a strong and sturdy boat. They build a yacht that both looks good and is fit for purpose.

The day comes to launch the boat. A celebration is held as it finally hits the water.

Plans are made. Winds and currents are checked.

Nothing is left up to chance or luck. There is a risk, but they have a craftsman’s wisdom.

Sailing skills have been honed. The ability to read a map, take compass bearings, and to pick the shifts of wind.

There is wisdom, and they have done the work.

Sometimes the wisdom has been passed on from generation to generation.

There is the thrill of arriving at your destination, but there is also the thrill of battling through a storm and the taste of salt on your lips.

Some want to come on your adventure, whereas others want to stay at home with a nice cup of tea.

But they want life. Sea spray and wind raging through their hair.

I love to remind people that the word “nice” is never found in the Bible.
God is not nice, it seems; God is wild. Richard Rohr

Wisdom is better than luck. I believe in wisdom and want to build my life around it.

Faith, that builds a boat for set for purpose.

I believe in faith

I have just got off a Zoom call with someone I have been talking with most weeks for the past three years.

When we first started our conversations, the context in his life wasn’t good. Burnout, complex medical conditions including cancer, loss of work and income were but some of the storms they were facing into. ‘Where are you, God!’

Some would say that luck was against him and his wife.

They didn’t believe in luck, and I don’t either.

We believed that these were experiences of living in a broken world but where God is in the business of making all things new.

We also believed there is providence, but that it may not be seen in the way we want to see it or in the timing we demand.

As we have talked and prayed over the past three years, little (millimetre) changes happened.

Those millimetres joined and built on top of each other until today, when we see something gloriously good and totally unexpected coming about.

They have rebuilt a boat as such. A better boat than before. A boat with bigger sails.

The boat they had before wasn’t too bad, but this boat, the new one made through many storms, is so much stronger, beautiful and can carry so much more.

It wasn’t luck that built the boat. It was wisdom and work, empowered with faith.

Faith that builds a boat

I love the story of how God had Noah build a boat. A place of providence for Noah’s family and ‘two of each living creature’ Genesis 6:14-16

This boat-building story makes it into the ‘Great Hall of Faith’ narrative in the book of Hebrews.

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.

It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land.

He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. Hebrews 11:1-3;7

God is building the Barry Pearman boat, whilst at sea.

I’m not entirely sure where the boat is heading, but it’s going to have storms at times, and it’s going to feel becalmed at times too.

But with every storm and with every becalming, there feels like a growing from the inside out.

God wants to build the boat of _______ (insert your name) from the inside out.

A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. John A. Shedd

I launch my boat

By faith today
I launch my boat
Where will the winds take me
As I float

Where will I travel?
I will set my course
But where will the winds chase my tail?
Currents below have such force

Will it be by luck?
I reach that sandy golden shore
Or is it a dance of connection
Between my heart and yours

By faith I listen for the wind
I set my sail to catch what comes
Where will you take me?
Even if I’m blown off my course

By faith I see you in the bow
Sound asleep sounding well
You have such deep trust in all to come
All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well

By faith you’ve given me this boat
Expanding vessel
Expanding hope

I open my sails
Catching your Spirit wind
Let’s go together
Mystical Providence
Rain drops on skin

I launch my boat
Into a sea of unknown
By faith I make this my daily choice
More of your goodness to be shown

Barry Pearman

Quotes to consider

A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. Franklin D. Roosevelt
If God has given you but a small portion of the world, yet if you are godly He has promised never to forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Providence has ordered that condition for you which is really best for your eternal good. If you had more of the world than you have, your heads and hearts might not be able to manage it to your advantage. A small boat must have but a narrow sail. John Flavel. The Mystery Of Providence
Faith is not the opposite of doubt. Faith is the opposite of certitude. Where you don’t need to be certain to be happy. If you can’t go there, you’ll never be happy because you’ll never get logical certitude. If you’re waiting for 100% certitude you’re never going to be happy. Richard Rohr. Podcast: Trust is a Rock You Can Build Upon
Any approach to life that doesn’t center in trust eventually produces misery. Larry Crabb The silence of adam

Questions to answer

How much do you believe in luck?
We want the magic wand cure, the lucky break, to have fortune smile on us. Why are we so reluctant to embrace wisdom and work, empowered with faith?
Why are we so captivated by the quick wins ‘I won the lottery’ and not by those who simply put in the work and grow millimetre by millimetre?

Formation exercise

Imagine yourself as being like a boat. A yacht in fact. Are you a large oceangoing sailing ship of old carrying goods across the sea? Or are you a small dinghy with a narrow sail that barely leaves the shoreline? Imagine yourself growing from the inside out. What challenges would you face as the ship’s carpenter comes aboard? Where would the work begin? Would he ask you to put yourself out a little more from the shore? What feelings get triggered when he announces, ‘Let’s build a bigger boat’