Surprising Elements

Acts 9:10–21

Surprises are always part of God’s leading. In Saul’s case, the surprise came in the form of a light from heaven, marking a life-changing transformation. For Ananias, it was a seemingly unreasonable and illogical command from the Lord, delivered in a vision.

If you’re waiting on God to fill in all the shading in your picture, you will never take the first step in obeying His will. You must be prepared to trust His plan, knowing it will be full of surprises. Surprises are always a part of God’s leading.

Surprises always intensify our need for faith. When you encounter the surprising element of God’s will, your faith must engage full throttle. Otherwise, you’ll turn and run in the opposite direction. At times God’s plan will frighten you. Or you’ll be intimidated by its demands. Other times you’ll be disappointed. For instance, when God tells you no, to wait, or to sit tight, you’ll want to argue. You may decide to fight. You might attempt to negotiate. You may become angry. But when your faith kicks into gear, none of those impulses will control you. Faith says, “I can do this. I trust you, Lord. I don’t understand everything, but I trust you completely. Let’s do it.”

Quite possibly God has a major move in store for you in the near future. After almost seventy years on this earth, and having spent fifty of those years studying and learning more about the ways of God, I can tell you His will for our lives is full of surprises. He has more moves in mind for us than we could possibly anticipate. And they’re not all geographical.

Many are attitude adjustments. Some mean moving us out of our comfort zones to touch the lives of people we’ve never met. Or we might be in for a cross-country or cross-cultural journey that requires a level of faith we’ve not exercised in the past. Be careful about feeling too settled where you are—physically, emotionally, spiritually, or geographically. If the Lord wants you to move, I strongly suggest you cooperate, regardless of the risks. If He leads you to change, then change, even if it’s difficult. Surprises from God always intensify our need for faith.

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in God's Will and tagged .

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.