Every day you wake up, expect the unexpected

This devotion was used by permission from Dianna Hobbs’ “Your Daily Cup of Inspiration”. For more great encouragement like this, visit her official blog here.

It was a beautiful 72-degree day in Buffalo Sunday, and my son Kedar wanted to go outside and shoot some hoops in the backyard. Unfortunately, a terrible thunderstorm derailed his plans and prevented him from enjoying the warmth and outdoor recreation.

He was a little bummed that he couldn’t play basketball with his little brother, because he knew the next day’s forecast called for much colder weather and even more rain.

As expected, this morning, it was 41 degrees and rainy. By tonight, we expect a low of 38 degrees. That’s Buffalo for you! Our weather is so unpredictable. Some days, it feels like spring. Other days, it feels like the dead of winter.

Over the years, I’ve learned to accept that that’s just the way it is. I guess being a longtime resident has mentally conditioned me and led to the normalization of unpredictability.

In our walk with God, the normalization of unpredictability certainly applies. We get accustomed to the Lord’s unpredictable manner of doing things and learn to accept that He controls the times and seasons. He does whatever He pleases, however He pleases and whenever He pleases.

Earlier, I was reading Exodus 3 where Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats for his father-in-law Jethro. As he was minding his business and going about his ordinary day, an angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush.

How’s that for unpredictable?

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“Prepare for God to surprise you in a good way. He’s going to do something unexpected, impossible, and extraordinary for you!”

— Dianna Hobbs

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When Moses noticed that the bush was on fire but wasn’t burning up, he found it strange and walked toward it to get a closer look. That’s when God called out to him from it.

In verse 5, the Lord said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Once Moses realized that he was in the presence of God, he was afraid and hid his face. He likely didn’t know what to think about this unexpected encounter. God didn’t give him any warning. He just popped up and announced that Moses was going to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from slavery.

Notice that God chose an uneventful, ordinary day to reveal His extraordinary plans for Moses. The Lord loves doing things like that. He specializes in choosing ordinary people, ordinary circumstances and creating extraordinary outcomes.

None of us knows when God will do something spectacular. He enters the mundane and makes it miraculous, and there’s no way of predicting His ways. Often, there are no telltale signs that He’s up to something awesome. We can only apply our faith, stand on His word, and trust His leading, His timing and His faithfulness. Though we don’t know when, where or how God will show up, we can be confident that He has extraordinary plans for us that will manifest in due time.

Friend, though nothing special may be happening in your life right now, stay in expectation. God is going to move in your ordinary circumstances in extraordinary ways. And through this word, He is preparing you for something greater than what you now see.

Every day you wake up, expect the unexpected. Our unpredictable God is going to bless you in ways you could have never predicted and take you places you never thought you’d go.

Today, I’m stirring Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV into your cup of inspiration, which says: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, be open, be on alert, and be sure that God is up to something incredible, and He will reveal His plans when you least expect Him to.

Now, let’s pray.

God, I don’t know Your plans, and I don’t fully understand Your will, but I trust that You are leading me to a place of purpose, blessing, victory and breakthrough. Thank You in advance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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