Devotional from Pastor Dave August 23, 2023

Co-winky-dink

A couple of Sundays, when I was away visiting some friends in Omaha, Marti Wayland delivered the Sunday morning message for me on Esther. Inspired by probably the most famous verse in the book of Esther, where her cousin Mordecai says to her “perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this” (4:14), Marti talked about coincidences. Or, as one of her daughters used to say, “co-winky-dinks.”

Have you ever experienced a co-winky-dink?

I remember one Monday morning years ago, I was getting ready to take Noah to school when I realized my car battery was dead. I needed to get some jumper cables to jumpstart it. Later that morning when I finally got to the office, I had to write my weekly newsletter article. I decided to write it about how Jesus is like jumper cables. Sometimes we need a boost ourselves, and sometimes we can give a boost to others.

Well, as it happened, the next day, as I was walking out of Walmart, a group of young people called me over to their car. Their car wouldn’t start. The battery was dead. Could I give them a boost? Why, yes, I could!

Co-winky-dink?

The Bible really doesn’t talk about coincidences. It prefers to talk about providence instead. While we might consider coincidences relatively random occurrences, perhaps they might be instances in which God provides what we need when we need it.

A famous example in the scriptures is when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac. After the angel of the Lord calls him off, we read that “Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:13). Coincidence? Providence.

However, I do like the term “co-winky-dink.” I like the “winky” part of it. Maybe when they happen in our own lives, it’s like God is winking at us, reminding us that God is always there, walking with us and watching over us in love and care.