Surprise?

Do you love surprises?

There are two ways to answer that question.

There is the enthusiastic person who shouts, “YES!”
They have no reservation in their response. They are people people, and they are always ready for an adventure.

Then, you have the person who attempts to sound enthusiastic. They reply, “Yes…”
It’s a yes that says, “yes, I like surprises that I have had a chance to prep for. I hope you aren’t about to surprise me.” It’s how those of us who don’t like surprises respond. That way, everyone else doesn’t think we are entirely lame. No one wants to be pegged as the no-surprise-liker.

The last time we got together, the Lord had us discussing the idea that we need to consider shifting our attention from just hearing Him to the desire to take action on His behalf. Before that, we talked about control and how it strangles opportunities.

I felt as if the Lord brings the ideas of each of those topics together when we take time to consider surprises.

We want to hear the Lord, but we can forget to take action upon the things He has already spoken. Instead of yielding to His direction, we hesitate by asking why or wanting Him to explain Himself further by giving us a play-by-play of what’s to come.

We may not realize it, but that desire for a further explanation can be a move to exert control over the situation. It allows us to stall.

Requesting a play-by-play is the move we make when maybe we don’t see how what our Father spoke is supposed to come to fruition. What it says is, “Cool idea, Lord. Please, share more so I can assess if what You’re saying is possible and comfortable for me.”

Do understand; I am not saying we should not seek wise counsel from those around us. Confirmation is a wonderfully encouraging thing to receive and a wise thing to seek out. However, how many confirmations are you requiring? How much assessment is going into the decision to yield to the Lord?

I thought we were talking about surprises.

We are. I promise!

Have you ever been blessed with the opportunity to surprise someone? It’s a pretty fun thing to do. As a parent, spouse, sibling, or friend, there isn’t much that’s more gratifying than to see the expression of joy on a loved one’s face when you get to gift them something or deliver exciting news.

If we know how fun it is to surprise others then, why on earth would we want to rob God of that same excitement and joy?

See, if God told us everything and always gave us the entire play-by-play, then we would never get to be surprised. He would never get to see the tears of joy on our faces or our wide eyes of excitement.

Truth be told, if we knew the play-by-play, how many of the good things God has planned for us would go unfulfilled because we assessed them as impossible or uncomfortable?

Even if you are a reluctant surprise recipient, I want to challenge you to say yes to the surprises that God wants to bring into your life.

Let go of control and take action on His behalf. Open yourself up completely to the opportunities living in His will for your life.

Let Him surprise you like no one else can. Awe and wonder live in surprise!

Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to prompt us to obey and yield to the Father’s will for our lives. In that yielding, there will be more extraordinary surprises than we can even imagine.

Marvel is at the root of the praise and glory we bestow upon the Lord. So, the more we allow Him to astonish us, the more praise and glory He will receive.

Now that’s a play-by-play that ends in a win/win!