To go calmly through my day, I will meditate on the thought that there are no surprises or accidents… in God’s eyes.
It may be an accident to me, or even a disaster, but He foreknew.
I left my phone at home when I rushed out the door to take the kids to school. Oh no! I was supposed to make an important call on my way back!
Then I am reminded, He knew I was going to forget my phone. Perhaps He wants my full attention as I am alone in the car on the way home. Maybe He has something important to express to me. The panic drains. I’ll make that call later, and enjoy the quiet ride home. Contented sigh.
I then find my phone, in my pocket. (Mommy brain strikes again!) I will make that call after all.
But this seemingly simple or silly episode has left an impression on me. If there are no surprises to God, then shouldn’t I find that to be a great comfort the next time I’m caught off guard?
As long as I am focused each day on Him and what He wants to do through me, what have I got to worry about?
I pray often that He will help me to be the person He made me to be, and to do the good works he prepared in advance for me to do. (inspired by Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”)
But when things do go awry, and they certainly will, “Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.” (Nehemiah 2d)
So even the bad things, can be turned into blessings. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise from the outset anyway. I just throw up my hands in surrender and awe as I begin to grasp the absolute sovereignty of God.
By acknowledging God’s sovereignty in *every* situation (despite my unstable, volatile, unreliable, fearful feelings about the situation), I am stepping aside from the “accident” scene, almost like stepping outside of time for a minute, and into that green pasture, where I can discuss the situation with God Himself.
I can boldly approach the one and only God of the entire universe! And I can ask Him, “What’s going on here?! What do I do?” And wisdom will come. (“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16) And He will help me sort through my piles of messy feelings as I talk with Him about them.
When we look for God, we find Him. (“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13) Sometimes, we see Him and don’t realize it. As we get to know Him, we begin to recognize Him more and more, seeing evidence of Him everywhere. And the more we recognize Him, we begin to comprehend His omnipresence. He is everywhere all the time. It is mind-blowing and comforting.
I wasn’t looking for Him this morning – I was looking for my phone. I didn’t choose to have peace when I came to the conclusion I must have left it at home. I credit Him (and his grace and sovereignty) for reminding me that He knew I was going to forget my phone, and He knew it was my pocket all along, and He knew that He was going to teach me that there are no surprises to Him.
But now that He’s taught me this, I think it’s my responsibility to remember it the next time I am surprised and tempted to panic. The way a small child looks to the parent for how to react to an uncertain situation, I will look to my Parent, who is never surprised.
It may be an accident to me, or even a disaster, but He foreknew.
I left my phone at home when I rushed out the door to take the kids to school. Oh no! I was supposed to make an important call on my way back!
Then I am reminded, He knew I was going to forget my phone. Perhaps He wants my full attention as I am alone in the car on the way home. Maybe He has something important to express to me. The panic drains. I’ll make that call later, and enjoy the quiet ride home. Contented sigh.
I then find my phone, in my pocket. (Mommy brain strikes again!) I will make that call after all.
But this seemingly simple or silly episode has left an impression on me. If there are no surprises to God, then shouldn’t I find that to be a great comfort the next time I’m caught off guard?
As long as I am focused each day on Him and what He wants to do through me, what have I got to worry about?
I pray often that He will help me to be the person He made me to be, and to do the good works he prepared in advance for me to do. (inspired by Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”)
But when things do go awry, and they certainly will, “Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.” (Nehemiah 2d)
So even the bad things, can be turned into blessings. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise from the outset anyway. I just throw up my hands in surrender and awe as I begin to grasp the absolute sovereignty of God.
By acknowledging God’s sovereignty in *every* situation (despite my unstable, volatile, unreliable, fearful feelings about the situation), I am stepping aside from the “accident” scene, almost like stepping outside of time for a minute, and into that green pasture, where I can discuss the situation with God Himself.
I can boldly approach the one and only God of the entire universe! And I can ask Him, “What’s going on here?! What do I do?” And wisdom will come. (“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16) And He will help me sort through my piles of messy feelings as I talk with Him about them.
When we look for God, we find Him. (“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13) Sometimes, we see Him and don’t realize it. As we get to know Him, we begin to recognize Him more and more, seeing evidence of Him everywhere. And the more we recognize Him, we begin to comprehend His omnipresence. He is everywhere all the time. It is mind-blowing and comforting.
I wasn’t looking for Him this morning – I was looking for my phone. I didn’t choose to have peace when I came to the conclusion I must have left it at home. I credit Him (and his grace and sovereignty) for reminding me that He knew I was going to forget my phone, and He knew it was my pocket all along, and He knew that He was going to teach me that there are no surprises to Him.
But now that He’s taught me this, I think it’s my responsibility to remember it the next time I am surprised and tempted to panic. The way a small child looks to the parent for how to react to an uncertain situation, I will look to my Parent, who is never surprised.