The Unexpected
There are things in life that come unexpectedly. When these times come, where is God? I believe the answer to this can be complex. The death of a loved one, your favorite team making the Super Bowl, discouragement, encouragement, joy, sadness, all of these things can happen in a blink of an eye. The Super Bowl is set, the Rams versus the Bengals. For a bot from southwest Ohio who grew up watching and rooting for the Bengals this is exciting. The reality is no one expected them to be here. Is God a Bengal fan this year? I would say not exactly. I mean he is a fan of all of His creation. He wants to see us thrive. I also lost a friend this week. Where is God in that? He was a good man who loved God. His family is left to mourn the loss. Was God mad at that family? I do not believe that is the case.
God has authority over all of creation. I am reminded of Job. He lost his wealth and most of his family unexpectedly. He was not dealing with this well. It took almost 40 chapters for his friends and wife to give him poor advice. In chapter 40 Job responds to God and commits himself to God’s plan. He finally understood that in the trials God never left him but was always there. God chastised Job’s friends and gave them instructions for repentance. They followed the instructions and were restored to fellowship with God.
In life things don’t always go as planned. We lose loved ones. We get discouraged because life has all of the sudden thrown a bunch of lemons at us. We see into the future but waiting for God’s timing gets tedious. Job says he heard rumors about God but now his eyes has seen Him. How do we see God in our everyday lives? He is there in the still of freshly fallen snow. Snow, in my opinion, is beautiful to look at but I don’t like everything that comes with it. To get the beauty off the fresh snow I must endure cold days, shoveling the snow, driving on slick roads, and having schedules interrupted. It is the beautiful dance God does in each of our lives. We have to take the good with the bad. My friend loved God and touched many lives. There are people who came to know Christ in a deep intimate way because of his unselfish love for others.
I had many conversations with him as I struggled with different things in ministry and life. He would always say something like “hang in there”. I would respond with I’ll try. To which he would quote the great theologian, Yoda, “no try, just do”. I leave you with this, when the unexpected happens put your faith in Him, no try, just do!”.
Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to His power that works in us – to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 HCSB
God has authority over all of creation. I am reminded of Job. He lost his wealth and most of his family unexpectedly. He was not dealing with this well. It took almost 40 chapters for his friends and wife to give him poor advice. In chapter 40 Job responds to God and commits himself to God’s plan. He finally understood that in the trials God never left him but was always there. God chastised Job’s friends and gave them instructions for repentance. They followed the instructions and were restored to fellowship with God.
In life things don’t always go as planned. We lose loved ones. We get discouraged because life has all of the sudden thrown a bunch of lemons at us. We see into the future but waiting for God’s timing gets tedious. Job says he heard rumors about God but now his eyes has seen Him. How do we see God in our everyday lives? He is there in the still of freshly fallen snow. Snow, in my opinion, is beautiful to look at but I don’t like everything that comes with it. To get the beauty off the fresh snow I must endure cold days, shoveling the snow, driving on slick roads, and having schedules interrupted. It is the beautiful dance God does in each of our lives. We have to take the good with the bad. My friend loved God and touched many lives. There are people who came to know Christ in a deep intimate way because of his unselfish love for others.
I had many conversations with him as I struggled with different things in ministry and life. He would always say something like “hang in there”. I would respond with I’ll try. To which he would quote the great theologian, Yoda, “no try, just do”. I leave you with this, when the unexpected happens put your faith in Him, no try, just do!”.
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