I was recently involved in a little “fender bender.” Actually, it was the rear bumper on my truck, and it was only slightly damaged. But, I can absolutely assure you, it happened for a reason.

There are people who believe everything happens for a reason. Some go as far as to say that everything that happens is “meant to be.” Others go even further, believing that God has a reason for everything that happens.

Does Everything Really Happen For A Reason?

Yes, of course, everything happens for a reason because of the Law of Cause and Effect. The result is the effect, and the reason it happens is the cause. So everything does happen for a reason. But to say that everything that happens is “meant to be,” or that somehow God is orchestrating every event in the lives of every human is ludicrous.

My truck was not meant to be hit, nor did God Almighty orchestrate it so the lady in the SUV would hit me.

Perhaps part of the “everything is meant to be” thinking is rooted in the “not my fault” culture we live in. It seems in the days we are living, nothing anyone does is their fault. It is either someone else’s fault, or, they just couldn’t help it. So, a good conclusion to the epidemic of this no responsibility mentality is simply that everything is “meant to be.”

Of course God can and does bring help to those who ask. The Bible says He directs our steps, and that He is at work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. But despite His desire for people to receive His best, He still honors a person’s free will to choose. And therein so many times lies the cause, or the reason.

Choices We Make Have Consequences

We make choices every single day, some so routine we don’t even think about them. As I was preparing to turn left at an intersection, I made a choice, and so did the lady in the SUV behind me. And, the person in the blue car coming very fast the opposite way to get through the intersection before it turned red, also made a choice.

Waiting for an opportunity to turn left, I was already in the intersection when the light turned yellow. Right before it turned red, I saw two vehicles coming through the intersection, and I decided as soon as they passed, I would proceed quickly with my left turn, as I knew the light would be red by then.

As the two cars passed through, I started to turn and then hit the brakes! An oncoming car I didn’t see, or expect, was barreling through the intersection. Had I not made the split second decision to stop immediately, we would have hit head on.

Meanwhile, the lady in the SUV was anxious to turn left as well, and when she saw the light turn yellow, and the two cars pass, and then me start to go, she followed. When I hit the brakes, so did she, but she ended up hitting my rear bumper.

I chose to turn after the two cars passed; I could have waited another second or two, but I didn’t. Later, in talking to the lady in the SUV, she said it was my fault she hit me because I stopped. I then explained if I hadn’t stopped it would have not been a very pretty intersection. She chose to follow me too closely.

The driver in that oncoming blue car made a choice to “make the light.” He actually entered the intersection with the light red, but his choice was to get through that light. I’m grateful I saw him at the last second!

Was Any Of This Meant To Be?

These three related events all happened for a reason; all three drivers made decisions. Was this all just meant to be? Of course not. Did God orchestrate it to teach me something? So I could meet the lady afterwards? No.

Maybe instead of thinking everything is meant to be, or that it’s “not my fault,” or attributing everything in the world that happens to being orchestrated by God, it might be a better idea to pray a little more and ask for His help. He would like to see good things happen in our lives, but He does not take away our free will to make decisions. The main reason things happen is because of choices people make.

So, choose wisely.