By Dianna Hobbs // Your Daily Cup of Inspiration

"Get ready for a Holy Ghost surprise," said my 82-year-old father on the other end of the phone. He recently called to release a word from God and share what he believed the Lord had placed on his heart.

"God's about to do some unexpected things," he continued with a smile in his voice.

"Praise God! I receive it," I said, opening my heart to accept the words of my father as divinely sent. It requires faith to activate the promises of God, so I connected my faith with my father's utterance and waited for God to manifest Himself.

Sure enough, He did it! Since that time, I can personally testify that those surprise blessings have showed up my life in numerous ways. I am beyond grateful. To God be the glory.

The Lord has a way of moving in the lives of His people and meeting needs. I believe He's going to do that for you. He's going to surprise you in the best way possible.

As I thought about that prophetic word Dad released to me, my mind went back 14 years to that one time Kenya and I were left with our mouths gaping as we gazed at the personal check a woman wrote to us for $500. We didn't fully know how to express gratitude for the much-needed financial blessing. At the time, we were preparing to welcome our first son and third child, but did not have sufficient funds to purchase all the necessary baby items.

The monetary gift was right on time to help us out.

“Thank you so much,” we said. Yet, we felt those words did not adequately express the depth of our sincere appreciation.

Though we attended the same church with this person, neither Kenya nor I interacted with them regularly. We said hello and exchanged niceties, but not much beyond that. We didn’t have a personal relationship with them and had not told anyone—not even our own families—that our modest means were not enough to accommodate the rapid growth of our family. We simply struggled silently, trusting God to be our provider and make ways for us to care for our children, and meet other obligations that came along with maintaining a household.

During that season of lack in our lives, some days, we didn’t know how we would pay our bills. We had shut-off notices. Our car needed repairs that we were unable to afford. Our cupboards were sparsely stocked, but our trust in God was strong.

Though we believed He would make a way, we didn’t know how.

That Sunday, He honored our faith and gave us favor with a generous individual who was highly successful in business, respected in the community, active in ministry and living a life of prosperity. To them, $500 was a drop in the bucket. To us, it was a bucket load! Kedar is now almost 14 years old, but that memory is still so vivid. When I mentally revisit the joyful encounter, all these years later, I feel a sense of  gratefulness. That $500 helped us out in a big way. We knew it was the Lord who even placed us on this woman's heart. There was no other explanation.

God is an awesome provider, isn't He?

Whether you’re facing a spiritual crisis, mental battle, emotional turmoil, health challenge, financial difficulty, relationship trouble, or some other hardship, don’t fret. God will make provision for your needs and assist you in your struggle. He is going to show up and do the unexpected in your life. He loves to surprise His people, just as He did with the woman at the well in John 4:1-15.

A Samaritan woman went out to a well to draw water and noticed Jesus sitting there. He asked her for a drink. She was surprised that this Jewish man was even addressing her. In verse 4 she said, “Jews do not associate with Samaritans.”

You see, after the Assyrians captured Samaria in 2 Kings 17-18, the once pure Israelites became tainted by their foreign captors. They intermarried, produced children, got mixed up in ancient false religions and were considered impure by other Jews after returning to their homeland.

The woman’s confused ideas about worship led Jesus to tell her in verse 22, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know.” He was just stating fact. The Samaritans had even erected their own temple on Mount Gerizim and worshiped both God and other idols. This made them outcasts. Jews avoided Samaritans like an infectious disease. But Jesus knew she had a need. She had issues with faith, identity and even love, since the Bible says she had been married five times and was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband.

Although religious folks looked down on this woman and her people, racially discriminated against them and viewed Samaritans as rebels, and misfits, Jesus saw her through eyes of compassion. She needed love, grace, understanding and help. The day Jesus showed up, it was a surprise to her. She had no idea that she was about to receive a desperately-needed, amazing gift. By the time Jesus finished talking to this woman, she was different. Her whole life had changed. She had a new perspective. She understood that Jesus was the “Living Water”—the Messiah—who could quench the thirsting and longing of her soul.

What she had been seeking all her life-- true love, real connection with God and satisfaction--showed up out of the blue and transformed her. She met Jesus broken, confused and lost. She came away from the encounter whole, with clarity about her identity and purpose. Her whole life got turned around that day and she was beside herself with joy. She went and spread the news about Jesus.

Verse 39 tells us, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” She told other Samaritans, “He told me everything I ever did.”

I love this story, because it shows how God bestows His love, compassion, grace and favor upon those others overlook and shun. Jesus got involved in the intimate details of the Samaritan woman's life, helped her understand principles she never knew before, and filled the God-sized void in her heart. He gave her an amazing surprise!

The Lord is going to do the same thing in your life. Whatever need you have today, the Lord is your provider. You can be assured that there is nothing you’re going through that God doesn’t see, know and understand.

You may be used to being surprised in bad ways along life’s uphill journey. Loss, lack, sickness, divorce, family drama, layoffs, betrayals, failure and many other negative things, perhaps, have found their way to your doorstep.

Even though none of us gets to skip over the bad stuff, which builds character in us and works together for our good in the end, there are seasons when God alters the course of our destiny. He begins opening doors, giving us increase, making ways, pouring out His Spirit and causing a fresh wind of favor to blow in our direction.

For somebody reading, your season of struggle is over. Your frustrating time of believing and not seeing anything happening is up. Manifestation time has come for you. God’s moving. You’re about to swept up in a whirlwind of blessings. It’s your time. God is about to surprise you.

What the enemy said would never work will work. The doors the devil tried to tell you wouldn’t open are about to open. The cycle of lack Satan said you would always be stuck in is ending.

It’s a new day. God’s plan, His purpose is prevailing!

For too long, you’ve been fighting the same battles, circling the same mountains, dealing with the same crises, and grappling with the same issues. You don’t know how to change it. You don’t see a way out. You can’t imagine how it could ever be different.

Prepare to be surprised.

A shift, turnaround, breakthrough and release is coming to you.

God wants to meet your needs. It is His good pleasure to bless you. He desires to see you whole, full of joy and living an abundant life. It pleases Him to cause all things to work together for your good. He specializes in better-than-expected outcomes. He’s about to produce that in your life.

To get you ready for the overflow of unexpected blessings and favor He has in store, I’m stirring Ephesians 3:20 NIV into your cup of inspiration, which says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, anticipate a blessing that will exceed—go above and beyond—your expectations.

Prepare to be surprised, awed and wowed by God’s goodness, mercy, love and favor toward you.

Now let’s pray.

God, thank You for the unexpected release coming to me. I praise You in advance for the blessings and favor You’re bestowing upon me. By faith, I anticipate greater breakthroughs than I can even imagine. When it happens, I will give You glory, for You alone are worthy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!

If you need prayer, don't hesitate to request it. I would be honored to stand in faith with you. I know that prayer works. CLICK HERE to learn how to submit your prayer request.