Stay surprise-able and open to the God divine surprises God has for you. If we become jaded and cynical we lose out and miss some of the blessings God has for us, because we become guarded and shut off to what God has in store for us.
Stay open to who God surprises you with, within your life and how He uses people to help you grow in your faith. Also, be open and willing to give God room to move within your life to surprise you.
Remember we cannot control everything in life, but we can submit to God's authority and rest in His peace. Resting in God's peace brings us joy because we realize we do not have to have everything figured out.
Moreover, when we stay open and surprise-able to God's blessings we gain a new perspective or a new belief for an old system or old way of thinking. We gain new things and new beginnings.
Do not freak out or be jumpy when God surprises you, but instead rest in His presence. Worship in the quiet and in the noise of life. Give yourself the freedom to worship and be surprised by God.
Let me be honest if you remain guarded and cut off from being in a relationship with God because you are hurt or wound by life or by people in general you will miss out on new things.
God does not want us to miss out on new things, new beginnings, or new surprises. God also wants us to rest in His presence to give our souls rest.
Furthermore, let me tell you sometimes you need to take a break from social media or serving in the church to let your soul find rest. Because sometimes we can get focused on doing for others that we forget to nurture our souls with fellowship with God alone.
Sometimes we ourselves need to step back from everything to gain perspective. And sometimes we need to be ministered too. Thus, at times we need to be filled, we have to step back and let God take the reins of life.
Let me also, sometimes we need a break before we burn out. I have been burnt out from serving in ministry and from social media and have taken breaks in different ways. And it has benefited my soul to find pure rest in Jesus.
When we run on empty we have nothing else to give to others. If our souls are not overflowing from our time with God then His love will not be pouring out from us. But it will be empty and lacking wisdom.
Nothing will fill us up or keep our souls overflowing with love and joy like the love of Jesus. Everything else eventually has the lackluster appeal that will not last but has an expiration date.
Jesus does not expire and His love never runs out. And neither does His surprises run out either. Instead, they spill out and cannot be contained.
If that is not appealing I do not know what is anymore. A love that lasts and is always surprising is astonishing to me.
God always blows me away when He becomes tactical in how He surprises me with new adventures in calling me to step out in faith. It is always unexpected, but also always good.
Here's the deal, if we are too busy for God to move or surprise us, we will also miss out on things. Because we will become too tired to see what God is doing or going to do.
Also, if our lives are scheduled down to the minute we will miss some of the people God wants to bring into our lives. Just because, we will have not have time to meet with them. God wants to surprise us by connecting us with other people.
God is in the business of connecting and bringing people together. And God is in the business of surprising His children. Also, God has a place for each of us at the table.
Let me add if we push the people away God is trying to bring into our lives, we will miss out on the people who will help us grow the most.
Although at times God does use the people who push our buttons the most to get us to take the next step or next move into our callings.
Furthermore, if we are busy and distracted by trying to get things done or going through the motions of life we will miss out on some of the most amazing things God does with ordinary circumstances and turns them into extraordinary experiences.
Plus, God also uses surprising moments to reveals His truths to us in a new light by bringing things we have not seen before right in front of us. And He has this way of bringing it into a new light so our eyes will be opened to the truth.
Moreover, a jaded point of view and a cynical perspective diminishes some of the surprising moments God wants to share with us because our assumptions or misjudgments have misguided us into foolishness.
Yet, if we hold fast to God's truth and lose the assumptions and opinions that have held us back in old beliefs we will become more surprise-able and open to God's abundant blessings.
This is also, true if we step back from serving from ministry if we are burnt out or if we have burned out from social media.
Meaning if we take a step back and breathe away from all the overload info, all the ads, all the misinformation the media feeds us, and everything that comes with social media for instance we will have more peace and sound minds.
The point is it is okay to give ourselves grace and a break from things to be alone with Jesus. Jesus wants us to be more connected with Him and less with the world. We were created to be with Jesus not of this world.
I want to share I heard this amazing sermon this past Sunday about staying surprised by Jesus and not become cynical or dead inside. And the pastor shared how His wife was so jumpy he has to creep around his house all the time.
It reminded me of how jumpy I can be because I scare so easily. Meaning even if you are not trying to sneak up on me to scare me I will scream loudly or jump in fear if something startles me.
So I share this because we do not have to be scared of the unexpected good blessings God brings into our lives. Instead, we can be waiting in anticipation for the surprises He is tactically bringing our way.
And as a reminder God is good. He is always the same stable and trustworthy. But He is also full of surprising blessings.
Therefore, I challenge you to read the book of Acts with a fresh perspective and fresh eyes.
References:
English Standard Version Study Bible (2008) Crossway Publishing, Wheaton IL,
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