Luck, chance and fortune.

The lot is cast into the lap;
But the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. Proverbs 16.33.

Luck is but a heathen notion, and the true Christian should never put his hope in it. I would go further and say that it should form no part of his vocabulary, other than in a purely negative sense. Of the three words under discussion "chance" is the only one mentioned in the KJV 1611 and this some seven times in connection with events that to the natural mind 'appear' to be what we may think fortuitous, but a careful study will reveal the "hand of God" behind it all, for "He is upholding all things by the word of His power" Hebrews 1.3 (not some things!).
It is simply unbelievable (or is it now?) that many Christians utter these words without really thinking about what they are saying. For God doesn't play dice. The words luck, chance and fortune will no doubt be among those uttered, of whom the Lord Jesus chided in Matthew 12.36-37 "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." How can any give God the glory through believing in luck?

I had cause to look up a church website the other day in the town near to where I used to live in the Cotswolds, and it says on the section "About our Church"; "The services tend to be traditional in nature, bible based and we are lucky to have a beautiful pipe organ." "Lucky"???
The church building is listed and some 180 years old, and according to their homepage it  recently benefited from a lottery grant to replace some windows and a staircase (with a new stair lift). No doubt then that the leadership of this particular congregation trust in luck!
Should it not grieve any right thinking Christian that their meeting house is heavily subsidised by a lottery fund? think of all those poor, and shall we say unfortunate souls who twice weekly spend much of what they have on gambling for a 'better' future? As Christians isn't it incumbent on us to be an example of holiness to them? Some may think that I am being "over righteous about much" but do the ends justify the means? Churches up and down the length and breadth of the nation now have their raffles and various other fund raising schemes to raise money for 'good causes' but do not church raffles which appear seemingly innocuous, give a moral stamp of approval (or should I say Divine?) to the purchasing of lottery tickets and scratch cards? Does not "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" 1 Corinthians 5.6? Gambling, be it in whatever form has no doubt ruined many lives, I remember (some 30 years ago!) the ecstatic feeling I had when I 'won' £100 on a high stakes gaming machine only to plough the whole lot back in (and more beside!) and at the end of the evening went home flat broke feeling in the pits! But I craved that feeling of ecstasy again which comes from 'winning' and would gamble on occasions since, but thanks be to God in Christ, it didn't overwhelm me, because at that period of my life I had little spare time being much occupied in my business career.

In the words of Samuel Pike (1755) on gambling, most especially card playing:

The whole I have to say on this subject, is founded upon a plain, but too much neglected passage of sacred writ: Proverbs xvi. 33. The lot is cast into the lap; But the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD; that is, whenever a lot is cast, the entire decision or determination of it is from Jehovah Himself. He claims it as His sole prerogative. This proverb will appear to be true concerning all sorts of lots, whether civil or religious, wheresoever, howsoever, or whensoever they may be cast. For, in all cases whatsoever, when a lot is cast, and cast fairly, an event is thereby rendered casual and uncertain: and it is not within the reach of human skill or power to ascertain, foresee or determine the event; and, if it be beyond human contrivance or art to decide the affair, to whom then does it belong, or whose prerogative is it? Whoever therefore believes the universal providence of God , must of necessity acknowledge, that all events universally are under the divine direction, more especially those that are casual. And, if God is to be owned in those events that come upon us daily, unforeseen, unsuspected and undesigned by any creature; surely divine providence ought to be still more especially regarded by us, whensoever we voluntarily render an event uncertain and casual. We must therefore conclude from the above plain text, and the reasoning upon it, that we ought in no case designedly to render an event casual with respect to us, without some real dependence upon, and submission to, divine providence. With which frame of spirits lots may be cast or established upon proper occasions, without any harm or crime:* And, without some such frame of mind in casting or receiving a lot, we are really defective in our regard to Jehovah as a God of providence, even supposing the occasion  of the lot to be proper and justifiable. But, if we venture  to cast a lot upon trivial occasions, such occasions as it would be profaneness to address Jehovah in, we are then guilty of trifling with that, which ought to be treated with a serious regard to the Lord, as the supreme Decider of all events: and especially of those, whose decision we designedly put out of our own reach.

* In cases of necessity and importance, where we cannot, without falling into destructive contentions, decide a point in question, the Lord graciously permits us to refer the decision of the affair to Himself by lot, provided we do it with a proper eye to Him, as the grand arbiter and disposer. "The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty." Proverbs xviii.18.

From pages 37-38 "Cases of Conscience" Pike and Hayward. Bold type in the original.

Should any not see the connection between "lots" as described in the Bible and lottery tickets, where did the word lottery come from? Not too difficult to work out, I hope! So, God decides who 'wins' the lottery? yes! though the masses are ignorant to this very plain and scriptural truth.
Some errantly think that it was by chance that Matthias was chosen in Acts 1.26!

If as Mr Pike said above of Proverbs 16.33; it is "too much neglected a passage of sacred writ" in 1755, how much more so today?