by Emily Conrad

Wouldn’t it be nice if this year held some good surprises?

I asked my husband this question at the start of 2020 because 2019 had surprises, but the biggest ones were not positive.

For example, my grandma fell ill and passed away a couple of days later.

A few months before that, we were in a major car accident. One moment, I was looking through the windshield, thinking everything was fine. The next, everything was not fine.

I didn’t see either coming and the impacts were jarring. Months later, we still feel the effects.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this year had some good surprises?

Even as I asked the question, I didn’t feel much hope.

I felt sad. I wanted the good surprises but saw no quarters from which they might issue.

We don’t buy lottery tickets. Random drivers don’t just come up to you and give you a new car, though they can take away a car by crashing into it. When you lose a family member, the place they occupied in your life remains empty.

Disappointments seem so much easier to come by than surprise blessings.

The Bible tells us to store up our treasure in Heaven, where moths and thieves don’t destroy and steal. No more death. No more tears. Whatever we hope for during our lives here, it’s our eternal hope that anchors our souls.

But wouldn’t you know, God sent me a good surprise this week

He did it in not just any area, but in an area where I thought I’d already explored all my options. An area in which I considered myself an expert. I knew there were a couple of possibilities, but none of them seemed promising.

And then, out of the blue, a friend messaged me saying, “Hey, have you thought about ____________?”

And just like that, a spotlight shown on a new way to approach a process I’ve been attempting unsuccessfully through other methods for years.

The nature of a surprise is that we don’t see it coming, and yet, I’m just so… surprised to have been surprised in this way.

It’s humbling, really. Here I thought I was an expert.

Surprise! I’m not.

But, God is both an expert at whatever we face and an expert at good surprises.

He is, after all, the God who surprised the Israelites with manna and quail and parted waters.

He crowned the youngest son of Jesse king of Israel. Who saw that one coming?

He is the God who came in human form, died on a cross, and defeated death. Though Jesus told His disciples He’d rise again, they seemed awfully surprised when He did.

Since He doesn’t change, He is still full of surprises.

God can make a way when we think we’ve exhausted all possibilities.

He can soften a hard heart, open an overlooked door, knock down fortress walls, and grant the victory.

We might walk with Him through the valley. Trails may sometimes take us by surprise. But no struggle this life brings us is a match for our God.

Our inability to see the quarter from which a blessing may issue does not limit God’s ability to bless and rescue.

Yes, in this world, we will have trouble, but as we walk with Him, we always have hope.

Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it?
Yes, I will make a road in the wilderness
and paths in the wastelands.
Isaiah 43:19, NET

Ours is a God of possibilities. Of hope. Of surprises.

May we praise His name and trust His ways.

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Photo credits
Title image photo by William Montout on Unsplash

Woman blowing confetti photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash
Surprised child photo by Andre Guerra on Unsplash
Graphics created on Canva.com