Borrowed Post

I read this on another blog today and was really encouraged and challenged by it...

caught by surprise

Have you ever heard the expression, "Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it"? When someone started a thread in my community with that title, I was struck with the realization that that very expression applies remarkably well to my walk through life at the moment.

You see, lately I've been praying for patience. And for an ability to trust in God's sovereignty. And God has most certainly been faithful to answer my prayers!

But you see, that answer has come at a somewhat uncomfortable price. Because, in order for God to help us learn patience, sometimes He allows us to be in situations that really test our patience. Maybe something that we are expecting will happen soon just drags on and on, while hitting innumerable bumps in the road. In enduring the frustration that is the unexpected waiting, we are presented with a chance to either become bitter and frustrated, or to embrace the time of waiting as a way to practice patience.

In learning to trust in God's sovereignty, God has allowed me to be in situations where trusting Him is difficult. I have recently struggled through some situations in my life, and have actually had the audacity to be tempted to question if God really knows what He's doing. Trying to blaze my own trail, I forge on as we humans sometimes do. And then, sometimes in fiery, stormy ways (reminiscent of the intense weather we've been having up here in the Frozen Warm and Humid Tundra), God boldly reminds me that He is, indeed, in control. He is sovereign, even when I can't see the wood for the trees.

No matter how careful our planning, we can rest easy in the knowledge that God's plans are greater than ours, even as we watch the plans we had set in motion unravel. When we face these stormy days and nights, we may be taken aback by the fiery intensity of it all, but God is never surprised. He's like the universe's best boy scout: always prepared. God is ever ahead of us, even when we lag behind, mouths agape as we see where He is leading us.

So, as cute at I think the expression to "Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it," is, I say go ahead and pray with reckless abandon anyway. Don't be careful. In my case, God needed to teach me some lessons, and I say take that step of faith and ask to be taught. While the road He might allow you to walk down may be scary, He promises that He'll be by your side.

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

No matter what unexpected twists and turns the path we're on takes, God will neither leave us nor ever be caught by surprise.