UnexpectedSample

God wants us to learn how to accept every unexpected event as an invitation to trust Jesus and his word, to expect his goodness all the way through. A life lived like that is one of the most powerful forces on the planet—because there’s a momentum of courage and faith that propels us into new places. What if we learned to embrace the unpredicted shocks, stressors and volatility of life and then use it for our gain? Maybe there’s a perspective, an ingredient, in the way we process life that needs to change. Maybe there’s a level of trust even higher than to believe “that all things work together for our good” (Romans 8:28). Maybe there’s more… So many times, when things get worse before they get better, harder before easier, darker before lighter, we doubt. We doubt God. We doubt His calling. We doubt His faithfulness. We give up. I guess he didn’t open that door. I guess he didn’t call me. I guess this isn’t his will. When did God say that it would be easy? When did he say it would be effortless? Something that I have learned over and over and over again is that… Closed doors do not mean that God is not opening a way. Increased cost does not mean that God is not calling. The presence of a battle does not mean the absence of God in the war. Trials don’t mean we are out of the will of God. They often mean we are exactly in the will of God—right where we’re supposed to be, doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing. Fighting the good fight of faith. Standing. Believing. Because he is working all things together for our good…and more! Adapted from Unexpected: Leave Fear Behind, Move Forward in Faith, Embrace the Adventure by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2018 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Zondervan Publishing. All rights reserved.