Unexpected

I’ve written multiple times about my proverb which is Proverbs 16 as my birthday is January 16.  It begins, “​​To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.”  Proverbs 16:1  This verse is why I KNOW this proverb is for me.  I am a planner, I like to know ahead of time what is going to happen because I planned for it.  Unexpected events can be unsettling for me, and I suspect they have the potential to disturb us all.   

In 2003, I was dissatisfied with my OB/GYN and decided to see a new doctor based on friends’ recommendations.  It was at my first visit that I unexpectedly learned that I was 14 weeks pregnant.  I had missed the whole first trimester!  This unexpected news brought tremendous excitement and joy.  There were so many things to do in preparation for the baby, I was beside myself with thoughts and expectations.  Now, my firstborn, seventeen years old, wants to graduate earlier than expected.  Rather than wait and graduate with his class in June 2022, he would like to graduate in December 2021 and expedite his entrance into college.  I was expecting to have those additional months to finalize the college finance plan, but it looks like those plans will need to be expedited.  He told me this past week, “Mom, I called the Office of Admissions and they did not discourage me.  I think I’m going to do it.  See, I’m being responsible!”  

Unexpected events happen everyday and they can be helpful or exciting, such as when we receive a phone call or text from an old friend, or when we receive flowers, or good news!  Unexpected events can be scary or even traumatic.  We may receive the news of an accident, or we may be involved in an accident or experience a devastating weather event.  Who knows what a day may bring?  

Our theme for this year’s Bible study is “Unexpected.”  We will study Matthew’s account of the unexpected King.  Imagine living your life day in and day out, taking the good with the bad, and one night this unexpected star appears in the sky.  It stands out and draws more attention than the other hundreds of stars in the sky.  People begin to speculate the meaning of the star, and some suggest the farfetched idea that it could be God’s announcement of this birth of His beloved Son.  While Jesus’ birth was unexpected by the people of the time, it was not a surprise to God.  Nothing surprises our God.  When we read the Old Testament, we see suggestions of a king to come.  John 1:1-5 tells us Jesus (the Word) was not only a part of God’s plan in the beginning, but was with God in the beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 

Last year, we all began to experience the unexpected affliction of a pandemic.  While we didn’t expect it, it did not surprise God.  While it continues to disrupt our plans, the pandemic has not impacted the plans of our Heavenly Father.  His plans proceed, He  is not surprised, and what He said still stands.  We can all be assured of these facts.  We are not privy to all of His plans, but quite a bit is revealed in Scripture and through the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit.  

What can we do as we live each day into our unexpected future? 

Understand that trials, expected or unexpected, produce perseverance.  I trust that everyone reading or watching has experienced trials of some sort.  Many of us are in the midst of a trial today.  While trials are unpleasant and uncomfortable, they give us experiences we can draw from in the future and they help us empathize and sympathize with others.  Sometimes when we emerge from a trial, if we have been listening and being obedient through the situation, we have a testimony we can share about the goodness of God through the trial.  (see Romans 5)

Be obedient.  We should all seek to live like Jesus - sure we will fall short, but we should all make the effort everyday.  Always do the next right thing.  Yes, the unexpected will happen, but we must practice self control and operate with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us we serve a living and active God.  He is still speaking to us telling us what next steps to take.  If you cannot hear Him, you may be surrounded by too much noise.  Maybe you need to spend more time in the Word.  

Don’t worry.  “25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?’  34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mat. 6:25, 34)  If you are a planner, unexpected events can cause you fear and worry - both of which are a waste of mental energy.  Trust the Creator of the Universe.  It was unexpected by you, but He has not been shaken.  He is not redrawing His plans.   He loves His children with an unfailing love.  He is good all the time.  He is ever-present.  He understands, and understands more deeply than we do.  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39  

As we continue our lives experiencing the unexpected, we must realize that we are not trying to gain the victory - you already have the victory!  Jesus took care of the victory for you and me when He overcame death.  AMEN!




​Thank you so much for reading!
Have a blessed week and don't let the unexpected shake you!
Kim