Surprises are not my favorite. I’ve often thought about why that is true of me. I guess you could say it makes me feel a “lack of control.” But as I have looked inward….many times…when I am surprised…I am so stunned and taken aback that it takes me a while to relax and enjoy or even realize what is going on.
I also really like to have things to look forward to. I like to plan and anticipate what is to come in my mind. If it is a surprise, that opportunity doesn’t exist! Collins planned a small surprise for my 50th birthday and launching of Back 9. I did love it but was so stunned that, to this day, I don’t remember much about it. smile emoticon Bill, being married to me for almost 29 years, has learned that surprising me is not a good thing…hahaha!
I do love God’s surprises. You might call them “signs” or “confirmations!” Meaning you step in faith and the signs follow….or blessings….the things you can’t predict or orchestrate….only God! Surprises like you read about in Mark 16:20, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Living a life surrendered to Jesus, a life of significance, requires you to have faith. You step and the signs follow. Just like Jesus instructed in Mark. Too many times as Christians we get stuck in “prayer!” Prayer is a great thing…and taking everything to God in prayer is a must…but too many times…it can become our “holy” excuse…to not “step in faith.”
It has taken me a long time to get to a certain point in my walk with God. Much seeking of God. Discerning when I am hearing from God to act or when I am “not stepping” because of fear. Using the excuse of…needing to pray a little more…or waiting until the stars line up….or that I “feel” like it. As I have grown in my faith and intimacy with God I have such a clearer understanding of….stepping without seeing…sometimes when it seems absolutely ridiculous…doesn’t make human sense…Hahaha! Remember Noah and the ark?
God usually doesn’t orchestrate matters according to the way our human minds are wired. We are not supernatural. When we do things that don’t make human sense but choose to obey anyway, then the nicest, most amazing SURPRISES come our way. I experience them almost on a daily basis. It has created such an intimacy with Christ and helped me not to be self-reliant or people-reliant (people pleasing).
Don’t get me wrong. We all need each other. God created us to be relational beings. But He created us to “draw near to HIM” to “Seek HIM” with “all our heart” and to obey.
I encourage you today to pray like Nehemiah did–that it all depends on God but then to go build “the wall” God has called you to build like it depends on YOU. The signs/confirmations/surprises will follow. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on YOUR OWN understanding. In ALL your WAYS acknowledge HIM and He will make your paths straight.” [emphasis mine] NOTE: a straight path can have mountains and valleys and curves too!
Maybe you are like me and don’t like surprises or maybe the element of surprise brings much joy to your soul. Either way, don’t let it stop you from seeking the Lord and finding out what surprises He may have in store for YOU!