Friday the 13th

It’s Friday the 13th! For generations, the day has carried a certain reputation: the unluckiest day of the year. Some people avoid travelling, others delay decisions, and a few won’t even step outside! The superstitions that have gathered around Friday 13th are indeed many: don’t walk under ladders, beware of black cats, avoid cutting your hair - to name but a few. I’ve even heard of people putting a potato into their pocket for protection!

Some laugh off luck and superstition, but it also shows us something real about being human: we don’t like uncertainty. We want life to feel steady and predictable - we want to know we’re safe. So when things feel a bit shaky, superstition can actually feel like a small way to get our footing again.

And yet, underneath all of this, sits a deeper question: what actually shapes our lives - random luck, or the loving sovereignty of God?

Our Desire to Hold the Reins

Superstitions often grow in the quiet corners of our anxiety: a date on the calendar, a cracked mirror, a number that feels heavy with meaning. We cling to what we can see because trusting what we can’t see feels harder.

Rituals offer the illusion of control. They whisper, “If you just do this, you’ll be safe”. But the Bible shifts our posture. It reminds us that even the smallest, most random-seeming moment rests within God’s hands - that God is sovereign.

This truth of the sovereignty of God isn’t meant to make you passive - it’s meant to set you free. Because properly understood, God’s sovereignty is not a threat to your life - it’s a refuge for it.

When “Chance” Isn’t Chance at All

The Bible is full of moments that look accidental but are anything but. Ruth “just happened” to glean in Boaz’s field. A stray arrow found its mark on King Ahab at the exact moment the prophecy said it would. What looked like coincidence was, in reality, providence.

This reminds us that God is often at work in the ordinary - in the overlooked, in the chaotic, in the inconvenient, in the messy. Long before you recognise His leading, He is already guiding your steps. And that should be a source of comfort!

Rethinking Friday the 13th

Some trace the fear of Friday the 13th back to the Last Supper - there were thirteen at the table, with Judas among them. That night carried the weight of betrayal - and Judas’ choice set in motion the path to the cross.

But what looked, in the moment, like everything falling apart actually became the doorway to redemption. Good Friday - the day Jesus willingly gave His life - wasn’t a story of bad luck winning. It was the steady unfolding of divine love. What seemed tragic was, in the deepest sense, purposeful - and what looked like defeat became victory.

This is a great lesson for us, especially for those days that carry a shadow. If God can weave redemption through betrayal and suffering, then no date on the calendar has the power to shape your future. As Romans 8:28 reminds us, God works all things together for good for those who love Him.

What Jesus Offers Instead

Superstition promises control, but Jesus offers care. He tells us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father noticing - so if God sees the smallest bird, how much more does He see you?

You don’t need a lucky charm to secure your future. You don’t need rituals to ward off misfortune. You don’t need to fear a particular day. Proverbs 16:33 reminds us that “the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord”.

Superstitions try to manage uncertainty, but faith learns to rest within it - not because we understand everything, but because we trust the One who does.

Living Beyond Luck

So remember this: your life isn’t shaped by black cats or broken mirrors - it’s shaped by faithful obedience to our all-powerful and all-knowing God, and by a steady trust in Him.

We don’t flourish by trying to control every outcome, we flourish by placing those outcomes back into God’s hands. We don’t grow by dodging “unlucky” moments, we grow by walking with God through whatever comes. This means that Christian maturity isn’t about gripping tighter, it’s about trusting deeper. This is the slow, beautiful work of formation - learning that our security rests not in managing circumstances, but in belonging to a sovereign and good Father.

So when Friday the 13th appears again on your calendar, don’t fear it. Let it remind you of something truer: that your life is not ruled by luck, that your story is not at the mercy of chance, and that your future is not so fragile.

The God who brings life out of loss, hope out of fear, and purpose out of chaos remains steady - and He is holding you!