The Unexpected Ways of God: Suprises

What do surprises have to do with our life of faith?

I know that it seems like we have had just one too many surprises over the course of this past year. 2020 has been the most surprising year on record for about a dozen different reasons that I won’t go over in this devotion because I’m sure, like me, most of you are tired of being reminded of all the “unprecedented” things that have happened since January 2020.

While surprises might seem like a bad thing in the context of 2020, I want to remind us all that during normal-er times surprises were actually kinda fun. Surprise birthday parties, surprise visits from friends, surprise letters in the mail, remember all of those things?

A while back a friend told me about an unique approach to their prayer life. Apparently, every day, this friend would wake up in the morning and say a very simple prayer: “Surprise me God”. (Apparently, it’s from a book called “Surprise Me” by Terry Esau.)

It’s a really interesting prayer, especially when you consider how asking God to surprise you could change your entire approach to the day. By asking God to surprise you, you are letting God be in control. Rather than trying to have everything go your way, rather than being disappointed when life doesn’t go the way you had imagined, when you pray, “Surprise me God” you are letting God be in control and you can approach the day with confidence and a sense of trust.

But not only that. When you pray, “Surprise Me God” you are also opening yourself up to the possibility of surprise. You’ll go about your day with a new perspective. What small ways has God answered that prayer? Where is God breaking in with a surprise?

Give it a try today. Really ask God to surprise you and then live this day with a sense of trust and a sense of hopeful expectation, because God is in control, and what God can accomplish in your life just might surprise you.