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SURPRISED BY GOD
This article was posted on Saturday, July 12, 2008
The story of Abraham and Isaac, how God provided the offering is a total surprise to Abraham.
Someone said that God provide us with things it seems, only for the purpose that we might learn to release them back to Him. He wants us to hold all things loosely, to release all things to Him.
Is the Lord going to use you in a great way? Quite probably. Is He going to prepare you as you expect? Probably not. And if you’re not careful you be at trials, the tests, the sudden interruptions, the disappointments, the sadness, the lost jobs, the failed opportunities, the broken moments and we might think- He’s through with me, He’s finished with me, when in fact He is equipping you.
4 Principles regarding God’s leading-
1- God’s preferred method is surprise.
So expect surprises. Surprises are the rule, not the exception.
2- His surprises requires flexibility and adaptability.
When you get in a situation that you didn’t expect, you have to adapt; you are forced to adjust. God hasn’t made a mistake. You haven’t made a mistake. You’re just going through the process of internal development that is all part of God’s arrangement of events, painful though that may be.
3- Behind God’s surprises are purposes we are not aware of.
Evaluate them. Remind yourself that this is no mistake, this is no mistake. God had deliberately planned this. Rather than feeling sorry for yourself, pray “Lord, please give me insight here. Help me to understand why my job isn’t what I thought it would be. Help me to learn what I can learn through this loss, thru the whole rearrangements of events. Why did you disrupt my plans and move me from there to here? Why is it that after I prayed, your answer was NO? What is it that You want me to learn in this process? Rather than becoming embittered, angered and disillusioned, rather than calling the whole thing a “mistake” ask “what can I learn from this?”
4- When God surprises us, He supplies us with sufficient grace to handle the unexpected.-
As we lean on him, He supplies what we need to endure, whatever His will encompasses us to endure for us. God’s surprises can be very scary, very unsettling. They can push you to the absolute limit but in the process of dealing with God’s surprises, we are learning to think theologically— to view life from vertical perspective. By doing so, you can release your child. You can even accept mistreatment without becoming bitter . You can handle delayed gratification and learn patience. The list goes on and on.
“Wherever you are in this journey called life, wherever you are in your domistic situation, your employment, your age, your health, your lifestyle, God maybe preparing you for a great surprise in order to find you faithful. rather than looking for someone to blame for the pain that you’re enduring or the the change that is in the horizon, look heavenward and realize that this arrangement is sovereignly put together for your good and His glory.”
(Excerpt from Dr. Charles Swindoll Sermon)
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