boyradd

Surprises

Genesis 45:26 – And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

This is not really a theological post. This is more personal. And that is fine. You know where I stand theologically. Sometimes it is nice just to share a personal story and give you a little bit of insight into the person who is writing this blog.

Too often we read a person’s blog and think to ourselves, “Wow! That dude has it all together!” But that isn’t the case…ever. No one is so perfect that they spew the Word of God from their mouths every minute of every day.

No. I fall short, my friends. Quite a bit.

Last week I wrote about how I am not perfect. This week, I want you to know that one of my (many) imperfections are that I am really bad at surprises. I blame this on my mom. Don’t get me wrong, my mom is amazing. She is one of the most loving people I will ever know in this world. She is gentle and caring and simply wants everyone to enjoy the moment they are in at the time.

But she is horrible with surprises.

I usually know what I am getting for Christmas by about March. My mom loves people so much that she just wants them to enjoy their presents, even when they don’t have them yet.

And I inherited this quality.

1 Kings 10:7 – But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.

Mimi has known almost every surprise that I have ever tried to spring on her. Sometimes it is simply because it was planned poorly. But other times, I let something slip.

A good example of this is that I plan on asking Mimi to marry me in the very near future. I tried to ruin it a couple times by saying something either on social media or in a conversation with her. If she hasn’t figured it out by now, then she needs to stalk me a little closer.

This made me wonder if, biblically, God ever surprised us.

Look at Genesis 45:26. Look at 1 King 10:7. Look at 1 Corinthians 2:9.

God loves to do something so suddenly that no one is quite prepared for it. In the story of Genesis 45:26, Jacob passed out when he found out Joseph was alive!

So surprises are not something I am good at, but God is amazing at. I keep waiting for the next big surprise from God, the second coming of Christ. But in the meantime, God has a plan for each of us. When we stay in His will and desire, those plans always go beyond anything we could ever imagine. God really does want to give us the desires of our hearts.

And not only that, but He wants to surpass them.

1 Corinthians 2:9 – However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him–