Well, I had the unexpected happen on Wednesday morning. I exited the house only to discover that my truck had a flat tire. Of course, I had a busy day planned that included a morning doctor appointment and other responsibilities throughout the rest of the day. It was inconvenient to say the least. I planned on fixing it that night after prayer meeting, but here is a shocker… it was pouring rain. No worries, I was able to remove the embedded nail and plug the tire on Thursday morning… I only got a little wet, then.
Unexpected circumstances by their very definition are events in our lives that catch us by surprise. You can’t really prepare for the unexpected… you just have to deal with them in the moment. And a flat tire? Well, that is only a minor annoyance really. It is nothing compared to an unexpected diagnosis or sudden relationship angst or the loss of a job. This past week a friend of mine had to make the difficult decision to remove his father from life support after a sudden and unexpected heart attack several days ago. Events like that
in life can certainly knock us off the rails.
As I was writing this pondering, the verse of the day that popped up on my bible app was Romans 12:12… “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” What an incredible model to help us face the unexpected in life! To be joyful in hope… to know that our Savior has our back… to know that He has plans for us that are good… to know that He is in control. To seek to be patient in the midst of affliction… no easy task for me, I will admit. But, I think that means to trust God during the unexpected circumstances that catch me off guard… because they never catch Him off guard. And lastly to remember to be faithful to pray through that circumstance.
The reality is that we all face the unexpected in life from time to time, yet we serve a God who is all knowing and all powerful and nothing escapes His notice in our life. He is in control and He knows what we need. “Lord, help me to be joyful… no matter the circumstances, because You have redeemed me. Help me to be patient when I face trials, for You use them to draw me closer to You. And help me to pray often when in the midst of them, for I desire to seek Your face!”
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