Expect the Unexpected

“How in the world did I get here? I don’t think I could have planned any of this if I tried…”

These are the thoughts that have been running through my mind lately. Maybe you’re in the same boat. Life has taken more turns than you ever anticipated (good or bad), and you’re trying to make sense of it all. Or maybe the bigger question mark hanging over your head revolves around the uncertainty about your future.

“Where am I supposed to go from here? What’s my next step?”

Over the last year of my life, the Lord brought me through an unfamiliar season -- a season full of rest and “down time.” (Definitely not my norm!) In that time, there was plenty of opportunities for me to reflect on the path the Lord has placed me on. Recently, I was reading Proverbs and one verse really clicked with me.

“A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?” Proverbs 20:24

To me, this verse made all the confusion okay. I’m a planner, and I like to know when and how things are going to happen, but my life has played out so differently than I could have ever imagined.

When I was a kid, I never dreamed of leaving America. Now, I am a missionary who leads evangelistic trips overseas for an athletic organization.

When I thought about what job I would have, I really did not expect that to include me needing to raise support to follow where God was leading me to serve.

When I dreamed of marriage, I wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that I would marry a Mongolian and even wind up living there for a time, too. To be honest, I didn’t even know where to find Mongolia on a map or have a clue who Genghis Khan was! (Maybe you’re with me and need to study up on some geography and world history for that one.)

All of these unexpected twists create so much confusion to the way my brain is wired and uncertainty in my heart about the future. Literally, following God has shown me a world of possibilities by leading me through all the exact opposites of what I thought my life would be, and I don’t have any idea what is next. However, these words in Proverbs give me assurance that it is normal to not understand life as it is, especially life as a Christian. God directs our steps. He leads us. He is in control, not us.

Now we do have a choice in this crazy maze thing called life, but the Bible teaches that our God is an all-knowing King who is sovereign over everything, right down to the tiniest details of my life. And I am willing to bet we have all felt a little confused about the direction of our lives at some point, but because of God’s sovereignty and proven goodness and faithfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:24), we know we can trust Him fully, down to that tiniest detail.

So, maybe it’s okay that we are confused, but how are we supposed to accept and respond? Thankfully, the Bible also has something to say about that! In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul pens these words from a jail cell.

“…For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

There is our answer. We can deal with the confusion, heartache, unexpected situations, difficult people and transitions of this life all through the strength that Christ gives us. In our society, verse 13 has been taken out of context in many ways, but at its core it means that we can be content with wherever we are because of what Christ has already done.

As we learn to trust Him with all the unknowns, the Holy Spirit brings such a deep peace that we can’t even understand (Philippians 4:7). That means all the pressure is now on God who already knows everything that has been and everything that will be, and we don’t have to carry those burdens. We may not always understand what we are going through or why, but we can let the all-knowing Creator of the universe carry those burdens instead of letting them weigh us down.

What difficult situations are you in that you don’t understand? What unknowns are you holding on to that you need to give to God and let Him replace them with peace?

God says we won’t always understand, but we can always trust Him, and He will give us strength as He directs our steps. So no matter where we’ve been or what the future holds, we can take comfort in the faithfulness of our Father and be prepared to always expect the unexpected.