God is never surprised by our surprises

Perhaps the most challenging moments of our lives come when we are surprised by events that rock our world: A medical diagnosis, the betrayal of a friend, losing our job or a loved one - whatever the cause, the surprises are surprises of pain, uncertainty, and often deep shock. In those moments, we need to remind ourselves that God is never surprised by our surprises; He knew about them long before they became known to us. He is never surprised and knows how He will redeem our situation for His eternal purposes.

Bad news that comes as a surprise is hard to cope with precisely because we have not had the time to come to terms with it - to process the news and its implications. It is precisely at those moments that we need to remember that God has had all of eternity past to know, understand, and anticipate the moment when we face our most significant uncertainty. The certainty of His knowledge and goodness is a game changer in our uncertainty. 

His certainty is expressed well in Psalm 139:6, where the psalmist writes, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Our surprises are never His surprises. In fact, if the events of our lives were written in his book before one of them came to be, the implication is that God's eternal purposes in our situations are sure and that what appears to be random events of fate to us is never so to God. For if He knew the events that would overwhelm us, He also knew beforehand how He would show His goodness and sovereignty in the midst of them. We cannot be sure of much in our lives, but we can be sure of Him.

As I reflect on the surprises I have encountered in my 58 years, I can see in retrospect much of how God used them to guide my journey. Some were not pleasant, and some were not fair, but what surprised me did not surprise Him, and He redeemed those events for His purposes in my life in amazing ways. It is that fact that gives me perspective when the surprises come. 

Leaders need to understand this principle in their leadership role. Our lives are filled with surprises that we did not anticipate. Yet the confidence that God is not surprised ought to give us a settled heart as we deal with those surprises. God is not panicked, and neither should we be.

God is always just on time

It is a big deal in business and industry - just on time delivery. Rather than warehouse inventory the big deal is to have inventory get to you just when you need to deliver it, not before. It saves a great deal of money and is far more efficient.

God works the same way in regard to our needs, whether in our ministries or personal lives. Often, He does not send what we need beforehand but He is never late. He is just on time!

A friend shared last week how they received a gift of $2,000 just as they needed it. Another friend whose ministry has been in real need of cash for a year and a half received one million in financing last week. Here is the interesting thing about that financing: He has been looking for it for a long time but in retrospect he said, it was a blessing it did not come prior to now because of how God used the interim period without that financing to do things that would not have happened if the money had been their earlier. God knew what he did not know and delivered what was needed at the perfect time.

This is where trust and faith in God's eternal and sovereign plan plays into our lives and ministries. He knows what we don't know. He has promised to supply our needs but tells us not to worry about "tomorrow." The tomorrows belong to Him, not to us. And He knows which tomorrow is the tomorrow when our needs will be met perfectly. And He shows up - just on time.

He also knows when to not answer our prayers - at the time - because in not doing so He knows that we will find breakthroughs that we would not have found otherwise. When North Coast Church in Vista was in a relocation process they were held up for several years by a lawsuit from neighbors who did not want them building on their property. The church kept growing however, and they were forced to look for alternative ways of doing ministry. So was born the multiple venue system of worship which has allowed North Coast to grow to over 7,000 before the move and has influenced churches all over the United States and beyond. What they saw as a hassle (a lawsuit) was actually a blessing that blessed thousands of churches across the country.

God is always on time. But it is always His time rather than our time. And because we are in a hurry when He is not we are constantly encouraged grow in faith. As we grow in faith we become more comfortable to live in His time zone rather than in ours.

God asks us to pray for our daily needs. And then to trust Him for His provision, which will show up at His perfect time - not ours. But His time is indeed perfect.

Suffering, pain and God's sovereignty

I am convinced that nothing tests our theology of God's sovereignty than when life blows up in our faces and we are left with the pain of the results. I have had my share so can speak from some experience:  dreams shattered in I my pastoral experience; being turned down for the job I presently hold, two life threatening illnesses and more. Each time I had to grapple with the questions: Is God good, is He truly sovereign? Can I trust Him with my future? and can He redeem the pain, suffering and situation that is beyond my control and use them for His purposes.

Let's face it. It is easy to talk about His sovereignty and goodness in the good times. It is far more difficult to do it in the hard times! Those of us who preach and lead and teach often have fine tuned theology for others but it is when life comes undone that we grapple with it ourselves.

Etched in my memory is January 4, 2009 when I was pulled off an aircraft in Thailand, sent to the hospital and found myself on a ventilator that evening with massive pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and septic shock - for the second time in two years. Awake that night on a ventilator with all the pain it engendered, a bad prognosis, my wife on the other side of the planet and my 21 year old son signing medical consents and knowing the odds I had to grapple with the questions above. 

It called the question: What did I really believe about God's sovereignty and Romans 8? Was God good even if I had not survived? Could I truly trust God's purposes for my life? The truth is I felt not a whit like Isaiah 40:28-31:

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

I felt a lot more like David in the Psalms where he despairs of his life and his soul is utterly cast down. And I knew that I had to choose like David did in Psalm 62 to trust God in spite of everything because He is sovereign and good and present and my salvation no matter what my situation. It was a choice I made late in the night as I wrestled with God and chose a path of faith. It was not easy and I had no idea of the outcome - even whether I would survive long enough to see Mary Ann when she arrived.

There are times when life surprises us, disappoints us and frankly betrays us. It is in those times that we make a choice to either believe what we have known to be true or not. Frankly, in retrospect, I am deeply thankful that I was faced with the choice on a number of occasions because it was in the crucible that faith and truth became truly real in my life and heart. It is the testing of our faith that makes it real. Every step of faith is a step toward God and toward His truth, promises, love and faithfulness. There is no other way to truly make it real!