(excerpt taken from my upcoming “Think Divinely Daily Devotional”)
“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31
Superstitions have been around since the dawn of man.
One superstition, which is prevalent today, is the bad luck of the number 13. Enter an elevator and notice what floor is typically missing—the thirteenth. What space flight seemed cursed? Apollo 13. Some folks watch their step on Friday the 13th, and, of course, horror movies such as Friday the 13thhave been big box-office hits.
Origins
Some think the earliest known origin of this superstition centering around the number 13 comes from ancient India, where it was considered unlucky for thirteen people to sit together. In Nordic mythology, the evil Loki is the ’13th guest’ at a banquet of gods, which ends in arguments and violence. The most famous origin involves Judas Iscariot, the so-called traitor apostle, who was the ’13th man’ at the Last Supper. Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, which got linked to the number 13 for a day of unholy luck. ‘Friday the 13th’ also marked the mass execution of the medieval Knights Templar. Following tensions with the Vatican, the Christian knights were all but wiped out beginning on Friday, October 13th, 1307.[i]
Where Your Focus Should Be
Unfortunately, people (yes, even some Christians) start to focus on the meaning of numbers instead of the God of the numbers. Remember, God created it all, and His desire is that we seek His face and not turn to quick fixes or superstitions. He desires relationship, and He has the answers we seek. We must pray and wait patiently for how He may answer. God wants you to turn to Him first.
Divine Thought: Don’t seek out mediums or other New-age astrological signs to find answers.
Trust that God will provide the answer in His time—be expectant for it in your prayers.
[i]Mitch Horowitz, 13 Superstitions that Still Scare Us (The HuffingtonPost.com, Inc., April 12, 2015). Accessed April 20, 2017.
Yes, God is always the answer. Don’t put thoughts into man made superstitions. God loves us and His way is always the best. 🙂
I was born on Friday the 13th. My father convinced me the day was lucky until some school friends told me the “truth’.
I don’t need to be lucky though. I’m blessed. A whole better world.
Thanks for posting! God bless!
A good jerk on the chain Lisa
We all need to be reminded of His desire to protect and keep us.
Everything else fades away.
Nice…
Wow – I had no idea Friday the 13th had such a long history! I seriously though it was made up by the “Friday the 13th” movies!
I don’t worry about numbers – even when 666 comes up in something (address, phone number) – I might pause for a moment, but like you said. God is bigger than the numbers.
That said, sometimes I also take notice of the positive numbers in Bible history – I don’t put any faith in them, but I do notice – numbers like 3, 7, 12, 40. – Maybe it’s just God being the God of order. 🙂
Hi Christina!
Thanks for your comments. The way I understand God is that He is the Author of Math. He created the entire universe within a hair’s breath mathematically. So, there is significance to numbers in God’s economy. The difference is that we are not to worship those numbers (i.e. Numerology, Astrology, Superstitions, etc.), but we are to worship the Mind behind the math!
I once heard John Lennox, a brilliant Mathematician at Oxford, say that “mathematics is the language of God.” That stuck with me. Mathematics is an abstract concept and one that gives validity to the immaterial world. It shows that a purely Naturalistic-worldview, one that does not accept anything immaterial, cannot be true. Numbers are not “things” but are only used to count things. Numbers are immaterial, abstract concepts that exist because the Creator expressed His unique design of life numerically (i.e the fine tuning of the Universe). Now that is something we can “count” on.
God bless you, Lisa Q