Pages


"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 NIV

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Expect the Unexpected

     My husband patiently waited for his opportunity to provide for our family while deer hunting last fall. He enjoyed the opportunity to think and pray, immersed in nature and relative silence.  One prayer centered around reassurance that God would provide what we need as a family.  My husband shared with me, "I told God that if he brought a deer over the ridge just then, I would know that he was going to provide for us, and I would not have to worry."  Instead of a deer, more than a dozen turkeys descended from the hill.  Both our minds came to the same conclusion. Perhaps God was saying, "I will provide for your family, just not in the way you expect."
 
     God has a habit of surprising me.  He changes my plans, brings people into my life, and orchestrates "coincidences" more often than I can recount.  I have learned to expect the unexpected and to keep an open mind to his solutions to problems.  When I do, I am less frustrated that things do not go my way and more able to give God credit for getting my attention creatively.

     "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

     Now when problems are solved in ways my husband and I do not anticipate or blessings come unexpectedly, we turn to each other and comment, "Must be the turkeys!"

     I thank you, Lord, that your ways are so much higher than my own. I confess I do not always enjoy not knowing how you will provide.  Help me to rest in your promises and trust that you never let go of me. Amen.

1 comment: