Article March 15, 1993 Issue

We are not governed by chance

Feeling lucky? Cursed? We can discover safety and reliable good through a better understanding of God.

Charles R. Wellington

During the mid-1970s I was stationed with the United States military in a European country. At that time there was a great deal of terrorist activity, directed against the U.S. military in particular. A number of random bombings had taken place, as well as kidnappings. Because of the surprise nature of these attacks, a feeling of helplessness seemed to prevail on the base where I was stationed.

In the face of this daily threat, my wife and I prayed to see God's thoughts of peace toward His creation as a governing, provable divine law. This was not easy. A common feeling on base was that if it's "your turn to go," there's not much you can do about it. It was felt to be virtually impossible to defend oneself against terrorist activity in that largely open society.

Notwithstanding this fatalistic attitude, my wife and I prayed to understand that the only true force in operation was good —God. Holding diligently to that premise, we saw more and more clearly that apparent forces of hate and terror—and the fear of becoming a random victim of those forces—were actually powerless in the presence of God's goodness. This truth provided much comfort in an otherwise anxious environment.

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