Bread for the JourneySample

Surprised!

I don't know if you've ever been surprised by the Lord. I must assume you have, because it's something God does for His children more often than we might think. When I talk about surprises, I mean those details full of grace and love that God has for those who love Him.

Maybe it's an unexpected blessing, or an answered prayer, where He gives us much more abundantly than we hoped for. God has many loving details where He lets us see how aware He is of the desires of our souls and the sighs of our hearts.

God's surprises come in all sizes, so they can be small things that mean a lot to us. I remember one moment in particular when I was with my husband in another country. It was lunchtime, and we were very hungry. At that moment, I said, "I'd like to eat..." (I'll let you imagine what). We saw a place, went in, and there they served me exactly what I wanted, including a slice of avocado that tasted like heaven to me. Maybe someone would say it was a pure coincidence, but I, who know how the Lord spoils us, thanked Him for surprising me so pleasantly.

When God fulfills a desire of our soul, when what we have cried out for with great fervor becomes a reality, there is nothing left but to thank Him for His surprising intervention in the matter. I perfectly understand Solomon's words when he said: “A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.” (Proverbs 13:19, NIV)

I believe that one of the things we should keep in mind is that God is pleased to surprise us for our good. He rejoices in extending His arm of love over us and giving us what our souls long for, even when we are not entirely aware of it.

When God sees a smile on our lips and astonishment in our souls for what He has done or given us, He also smiles for us. When we are the ones who surprise someone, we expect that person to be delighted by our surprise. We rejoice in seeing the expression on their faces and the joy we have caused them.

God looks at us and delights in the joy of our souls when we have been surprised by Him. It is up to us to marvel with a grateful heart at that divine surprise that has blessed us. Dare to ask God to surprise you. Perhaps you think that what you are asking for is too far from being resolved or changed. You don't see how what you ask for can happen; don't worry, that's because you are seeing it with your human eyes. It is precisely the miraculous and divine work that God performs on our behalf that makes us surprised and grateful for His great love and continuous mercy.

The Almighty, the Highest, is our God. When we see His hand working on our behalf and recognize His wonderful details revealed to us day by day, we can only bow our heads and worship Him. He loves us and delights in blessing us. Let's rejoice and receive His blessing with gratitude. “From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.” (Psalm 3:8, NIV)