Surprises

Life is filled with surprises.  People will say and do things to you that you never expected - both good and bad.  A career change becomes necessary just when you felt you were settled into your current path.  Your CPA tells you that a nice tax return is due when you had braced for a tax due report.  An unwelcome medical test result comes back when you thought you for sure you were in the clear.  You are offered a job you always dreamed of but never thought you had a chance of securing.

Whether welcome or dreaded, the surprise is coming.  And, it may come at just the right time or the worst possible moment.  What you can absolutely count on is that it is coming.  Something else you can count on is that God will be there when the surprise comes, only He won't be surprised.  He won't be taken back, He won't be unprepared and He won't be unable to deal with it,   Unbounded by time, God is already there.  Unlimited in power, He is able to channel the surprise to your greatest good.

Paul assures us, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28).  This promise is the basis for him saying, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation (Phil 4:12), a secret revealed isn't the following verse, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (v. 13).

Surprises, good or bad, can throw us off..  The stress level of having too much or too little isn't much different. Losing a job or winning a lottery can both bring a family to ruin.  It is particularly the surprise that makes the difference, it is the readiness.  And, if one has a firm faith in God's power to prepare, provide and protect, he will have the readiness to not only accept but to be content in any and every circumstance, knowing God is near.

I'm not saying we ought not be concerned with or make preparations for the future.  What I am saying is that we ought not live in fear of it.  Rather, we ought to live in expectation of God's goodness and his greatness regardless of the circumstances in which we are surrounded.  Life will have surprises, but God is more than surprising, God is Sovereign.  Jus' Say'n.