Uncertain Timesਨਮੂਨਾ

A God Beyond Surprise

I have very, very strict orders from my wife:

If I ever throw her a surprise party, the marriage will be over.

She is not, and never has been, a fan of surprises in general, and the idea of being caught off guard in front of all of her loved ones is simply a bridge too far.

No doubt some feel differently and love the variety of life surprises can bring.

Of course, context matters—life has good and bad surprises.

No man on his wedding day anticipates divorce, and no man starts his first day of work assuming a layoff down the road. We don’t know what will happen politically, economically, or globally, and honestly, we can’t control much of any of it.

But our passage today reminds us of a fundamental truth:

We are not God, but there is a God in Heaven who knows everything.

There is nothing that catches Him off guard. That thing that is stressing you out right now? He already knew about it long before it happened. He knew about it then; He knows about it now; and He knows how it will end.

And unfortunately, He doesn’t always give us the information we want.

Job found that out in the middle of his trials. After chapters of biblical text where he raises his complaint to God over how unfair life is, God appears at the end and answers him (Job 38:1-41:34, paraphrased):

“I am God, and you are not, and the Creator is not required to give an answer to His Creation.”

And yet, within this lengthy response, God also reveals many other truths about Himself:

He has been here since long before the beginning.

He created everything from nothing.

He is intimately aware of every detail of His Creation.

He is entirely in control of all things.

And even when life catches us off-guard, it does not change His nature, character, power, or goodness.

He remains the same, constant and consistent, wholly incapable of being surprised.

We get surprised by life’s uncertainties, but that is the condition of mere mortals.

Almighty God is far above us and far above that, and there is great comfort there.

No matter what we’re facing or how surprised we are, God is not. He is anxious about nothing and remains secure in His knowledge and His rule over us.

Prayer: I thank You, Father, for being literally “above it all!” I trust that even when I don’t understand, You do. I may not get all the answers I want in this life; help me be a man at peace with that, and grant me the strength to press on. Amen.

Reflection: What is one unwelcome surprise that hit you in the past year? What did it teach you about God? What did it teach you about yourself?