Expecting the Unexpected

"For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,  no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him."
Isaiah 64:3&4 


If you are at all like me, you spend time praying for the needs in your own life and the needs of loved ones. When you pray, you have a course of action in mind for the Lord to take. If there is a financial need, we expect God to send money. If there is a health issue, we expect God to heal. If there is a broken relationship, we expect God to heal the breech. But it is interesting that God often does things differently than we expect. This is one of the great mysteries surrounding our God. Yet he always acts in ways that are the best for us. 
    I think it is time to expect the unexpected. Although we have no idea what the unexpected is, we know that there is something great in store for us. It seems that when we pray, we often put God in our own box. We have an idea about the answer to the problem, so we expect God to do exactly as we ask. But as the Bible says, His ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts greater than our thoughts. So the answers may look completely different than we expect. According to the scripture above, when God does this, the mountains shake. This is one of the ways people will see and know that he is God. 
    It is important that we learn to wait on God. Yes, we wait in expectation, but we do not dictate to God what that outcome will be. The result is in his hands. Sometimes the answer may look a lot like what we pray, but other times, it may be different. In fact, we may look back and realize that God did answer our prayer in such a different way that we didn't recognize it when the answer came. God always acts on our behalf. First, we must believe that truth. Then we can move on and wait for him to come. 
    Today, think outside the box that you have created. Allow God to do whatever is best for you. I know things will change and the need you have will be met in a way that will exceed your expectations. We cannot fathom the wisdom of God. Let God be God and do whatever he desires. It may look different, but we should learn to expect the unexpected.