Being ready for the unexpected

-
As the father of four kids, sickness is a regular occurrence in our house. It seems that Kellie and I are always armed with ibuprofen and acetaminophen and we have our pediatrician's number on speed dial. But what really irks me is how often sickness seems to strike at the most inopportune times (not that there is a good time to be sick, mind you). Why must my kids get sick so often on Saturdays and Sundays? Don't these viruses know that our doctor's office doesn't have regular hours during the middle of the night?

There are lots of things in life that can catch us off guard and without a plan on how to handle them. For instance, as I type these words late on a Saturday night, the pipes under my kitchen sink have officially revolted and carried their water coup through the flooring into the basement. It's not a pretty site and there's not a whole lot I can do about it late at night unless I want to sell a kidney to afford the plumber's bill.

When life's circumstances strike at the most unexpected of times, there are a myriad of reactions that can result:
  • You can panic and act like the world is ending 
  • You could respond with anger and possibly break something or say something that you know you will regret later 
  • You might put on your "Mr./Miss In Control" outfit and try to fix it all by your lonesome 
  • You can stop freaking out and trust that nothing that happens in our lives will ever catch God off guard
Think about that. Do you think God would ever blurt out with, "Wow! I didn't see that coming!"? Of course not, because in His unlimited wisdom there is nothing that takes Him by surprise or causes Him to scratch His head in confusion. Isaiah 40:28 reminds us that God doesn't grow tired or weary and that He possesses an understanding that none of us can truly grasp. Psalm 121:3-4 encourages us with the fact that God doesn't get tired and never needs to sleep, therefore everything that ever occurs does so on His watch.

How should all of this affect you? It should bring you great comfort and joy to know that you serve a God who is completely sovereign over every area of life and that time is non-limiting to Him. There is not one thing that you are going through today or even tomorrow that will cause God to be utterly baffled and without a response. You can always expect that.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miracle

-
Last night I had the privilege of witnessing a miracle in motion. There are surely many ways to define what a miracle is, but to me it's no less than God moving against what we would consider natural and rational, bending the rules so to speak. And why shouldn't He since He made the rules to begin with? A gentleman at my church, a man of only 44 years, collapsed at his childrens' baseball game with what appears to be a massive heart attack. Those who reached him first found a man whose life was drained from his body, unresponsive, pulseless, not breathing. But not hopeless. There were medical personnel at that ball field, at least 3 nurses as a matter of fact. CPR was started almost instantly and out of nowhere an AED defibrillator device was produced. When the paramedics arrived his airway was already secured and they proceeded to give him the necessary medications and electrical shocks to his heart that eventually kick-started it back to beating on its own. I used t...
Read more

Life is precious and oh so sweet

-
I just returned from South Brunswick High School where almost all of the high school students in my youth group attend as well as my oldest daughter. Normally, this wouldn't be an unusual event at all since I sub there a few times a month and I man the carpool duty there every afternoon. But today was different. I was there for the worst possible reason. This morning a high school senior, a vivacious and popular fireball of a girl named Lily Beatini, died tragically in an auto accident not far from the school. Word in the form of rumors spread fast - I got my share of text messages - with everyone wanting to know what was going on. When my phone rang and I was officially told the tragic news, my heart sank. I didn't know this young lady personally other than being her substitute teacher on a couple of occasions and watching her play lacrosse, but I knew that she was well-loved and respected by all of her classmates. Her death has left so many students staggered and at a loss...
Read more

Heart surgery and life changes

-
Using social media to post every facet of your life is not always the wisest of choices, but sometimes it is the best way to disseminate important information. Since I have neglected my blog for way too long, I have decided to use this as the medium to give everyone a life update. I hope all of my 13 followers get this information. Right before Christmas of this past year, my family doctor advised that I get the pneumonia vaccine since I have a heart history. Back in 1996 I had double valve replacement surgery and have been kind of on cruise control over since, but there is nothing like being a little extra careful. About a day after receiving the shot I was blessed enough to be one of the 1 in 1 bajillion to have a reaction to it, which was akin to being thrown in a freezer and then in an oven over a period of several days. I did survive it, but I was one sick dude and decided that I would pass the next time it was offered to me. A few days after Christmas, I found that I was sho...
Read more