Learning From God’s Surprises
During our family’s two decades as missionaries to Europe, we lived for a time in Tours, France, deep in the heart of the beautiful Loire Valley. My duties required that I attend meetings in Belgium’s capital city of Brussels regularly.
On one such trip north, I needed to visit the local “Bigg’s,” a Belgian equivalent of Walmart at the time. Walking to “la caisse” (the checkout) after making my selections, I saw a bargain bin of CDs. Yes, it was that far back in time. Set atop the mound of CDs was a 1970’s release by Art Garfunkel, of Simon and Garfunkel fame. I had always enjoyed his music, and as the CD was only a few Belgian Francs (this was before the introduction of the Euro), I picked it up and headed to the checkout.
Sitting in my car, I took the CD case in hand, opened the factory wrapper, and lifted the hard plastic cover to retrieve the CD. To my amazement, inside the case I found not a 1970’s era Art Garfunkel CD, but a 1997 release by an artist I did not know. Further, where Garfunkel sings in English, this singer was French. I speak French and enjoy French music, so language was not the issue.
The issue was that the contents of this package were not what I had paid for. Surprise!
To say I was bewildered is an understatement. How could the wrong CD be in a factory-wrapped case?
Right cover; wrong contents. Expectations not met.
Not only was I surprised, but I was disappointed. My decision to purchase this CD was based on the cover. I had anticipated enjoying the music of an artist I knew. Instead, I was left with the music of someone with whom I was unfamiliar.
Sitting in my car, I pondered my options: I could keep this CD and be on my way, or I could return to the store and try to explain this seemingly impossible occurrence to an undoubtedly incredulous clerk. I knew I had little chance of convincing anyone, so I placed the CD in my car’s CD player and gave it a listen.
To my amazement, I liked what I heard. Disappointment became delight.
What had begun as a nice surprise (finding the Art Garfunkel CD at a great price),
turned into a disappointing disclosure (the wrong CD in the right case),
that turned into an even more pleasant discovery (finding not just a good CD, but an artist I continue to enjoy to this day).
The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise.
It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.
Ashley Montagu
GIDEON’S CD
Gideon was a man like me: the CD inside the case of his life didn’t match the cover of his expectations – the music of his life was a complete surprise.
The story of Gideon is a favorite of many, and precisely for its surprises: At every juncture of his journey, Gideon finds the unexpected, twists and turns that just can’t be. And yet, they are.
Gideon was frustrated, living under the oppression of invaders. But his nation’s idolatry had brought the judgment of God over the land. Gideon and his countrymen are prisoners in their own country. Surprise!
Threshing wheat in an underground wine press to hide his harvest from his captors, Gideon is surprised to be visited by an angel and hear him speak, not to the sky, but to Gideon, addressing him personally. Surprise!
Gideon is further shocked at the angel’s greeting: “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12). In Gideon’s eyes, the cover of his life doesn’t match the angel’s song: the music of Gideon’s character is anything but mighty; his past shows no valor. He sees in himself only a frightened man eking out a life in hiding. But God sees something different and unexpected under the uninspiring cover of Gideon. Surprise!
The angel is insistent: Gideon is not only a mighty man of valor, but he will be the one to lead Israel in driving out the enemies of his nation (Judges 6.16, 36-40). Surprise!
But then comes another unexpected discovery. Deliverance will not come through the valor of Gideon or the valor of his army; it will come by the hand of God. God instructs Gideon to cut the size of his army from 32,000 soldiers to just 300 (Judges 7.2). This battle will be won not by many, but by few. Surprise!
And the surprises are not over. God informs Gideon that his 300 will fight thousands, not with swords, but with clay pots, trumpets, and their voices. He instructs Gideon to surround the Midianite camp in the dead of night, smash the clay pots, blow the trumpets, and shout, “A sword for the Lord and Gideon!” (Judges 7:20). Surprise!
Gideon quite possibly surprises himself: He follows God’s instructions completely. He is perhaps even more surprised when his 300 soldiers, without any dissenting voices, comply with his commands. Just after 10:00 pm, in the dark of night, Gideon and his soldiers strike.The professional soldiers of Midian, thousands in number, panic. In the darkness and confusion, they turn and fight each other. Many died, while others fled into the night. Gideon’s three hundred rout the mighty army of Midian. Surprise!
In the end, and to Gideon’s amazement, he liked the music he found inside the cover God handed him. But, unwrapping the package of God’s plan, this delight did not come without surprises: The CD God gave him was not the music Gideon would have chosen, but it was just the music that he and Israel needed. Trusting God, Gideon chose to own his CD: he possessed it and played it, however unsure he was at first. In the end, God’s surprises and Gideon’s faith won the day for him and Israel.
The Scriptures are filled with many more accounts like that of Gideon, stories of when God surprises his people, often through disappointments that give way to decisive victories.
“Jesus must offend us, for He tells us not what we want to hear but what we need to hear, and sin has inserted a great gap between our needs and our wants. Jesus must surprise us, for he comes from heaven; how could heaven not surprise earth?” Peter Kreeft, Back to Virtue
The Music of God’s Surprises:
1. God’s surprises remind us of His sovereignty.
Gideon saw no way out for Israel, no hope, and no hero to deliver them. But God did. Because God is that hero. He is Sovereign. He guides the planets as they circle the skies of planet earth. He guides the circle of the earth and all who live within its horizons. The surprises of God teach us that it is He, not we, who is on the throne.
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4.14-15
2. God’s surprises interrupt our cycle of sin and self-destruction.
Why was Gideon secretly threshing wheat in a wine press? Ultimately, because his nation had done evil in the sight of God; they lived in a cycle of sin and self-destruction (Judges 6.1). They had chosen to stray from God, and so, God let them feel the pain of that decision. (There’s a lesson for our world today). Still, God chose to redeem His people from their sin and themselves. He did so in a surprising way. Thank God that even now, He is moving to defend you from that which would consume you. It’s called conviction. Conviction leads to confession leads to repentance leads to life.
“No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” I Corinthians 10.13
3. God’s surprises reveal the truth about our heart and desires.
God’s deliverance for Israel came wrapped in a disappointing surprise: the revelation that their oppression was their own fault, the fruit of their own rebellious hearts. God surprised them with His deliverance, but at a cost: they would have to face the truth: their hearts were selfish; their desires were set on what they wanted, not on what God wanted. Today, God stands ready to surprise us with His abundant life, but only if we are willing to look full-face at the truth about our hearts and desires.
“Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” Matthew 19.21-22
4. God’s surprises bring us His promises in a broken world.
Gideon’s world was broken. His nation, home, family, and life were shattered into pieces without hope of healing. He had nothing but the promises of God. But God’s promises proved to be more than enough, even in Gideon’s crushed world. They are more than enough in yours and mine. God’s Word is filled with exceedingly great and precious promises – promises of provision, protection, wisdom, healing, love, joy, peace, life abundant and eternal. He continually uses surprises to lift those promises-in-ink from the pages of Scripture and breathe them into our souls. Remember the old hymn, “Count Your Blessings?” Go ahead; start counting, and be prepare to be surprised again.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
5. God’s surprises teach us not to fear our circumstances, but to trust Him.
That Gideon was living in fear is obvious. The raiding parties of Midian fell often on Israel, stealing their harvest and livestock, destroying what they could not carry away. To survive, Gideon hides out in a wine press. But God meets him there in the darkness of Gideon’s fear – God confronts that fear head-on. His presence and promise set Gideon free: he clears out of his wine press. More importantly God’s surprise clears the wine press out of Gideon.
How many times do we read of biblical figures encountering angels, and yet, continuing to live in fear and doubt? It would seem that meeting an angel would be enough to cause us to trust God. But, evidently, our humanity too easily shrouds our hearts from heavenly things. And yet, this truth remains: our humanity cannot overcome the sovereignty of God or the goodness of our Heavenly Father: As Gideon learns, God moves heaven and earth to stir our trust in Him. Are you hiding from life, threshing wheat in a wine press, living in fear? God has a surprising way of setting us free. That surprising way began at the Cross and empty tomb of Jesus. The liberating light of that Cross and tomb can break into your life and set you free right where you are. You can give Him your fears. You can trust Him.
“Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41.10
6. God’s surprises make the Truth personal.
Though Israel had strayed, Gideon remained faithful to God. We know this from the angel’s greeting: “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.” But Gideon doesn’t hear this personal greeting. He answers the angel in general terms: “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, . . .” But the angel stays on course: “The Lord looked at him and said, ‘Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?’” (Judges 6.12-14) Question: How often do you see God’s promises as assurances for everyone except you? Beware! You may be entertaining God surprises unaware. Know that God has a way of making his promises personal.
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34.18
7. God’s surprises teach us humility.
Gideon knew humiliation. He knew it all too well. But now, surprisingly, he trades his humiliation for humility. He sees himself rightly before God and people, neither too high, nor too low. The angel sets Gideon on his feet before his enemies and his friends, on his knees before God. Through God’s surprises, we can come to understand that He, not we, is the Ultimate Ruler. Knowing this, we can ease into our place, comfortable with who we are before God and others.
“Now as (Saul) was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.” Acts 9.3-8
8. God’s surprises teach us wisdom.
One might ask why God let oppressors tyrannize Israel. A better question is why Israel chose to disobey God and open themselves to this tyranny? Answer: they chose poorly, not wisely. Wisdom is experience understood through God’s truth. Israel could not walk in wisdom because they had abandoned the truth. And so, God teaches leads them into wisdom by letting them experience the fruit of their foolishness. In His grace, God does the unexpected: He gives, and He takes away; He even allows us to learn the hard way. All surprising, but all lessons in the wisdom that comes only from above.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55.8-9
9. God’s surprises teach us that God is with us.
Gideon imagined himself forgotten and alone. Apparently, he had resolved to live forgotten and alone. Until an angel showed up, not just at his front door, but in his forgotten loneliness. In times of seeming silence and darkness in life, our Great Good Shepherd appears: guiding, providing, and protecting.
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23.4
10. God’s surprises teach us that in all things He is working for our good.
Even as Gideon wondered where God was and what He was doing during these long years of hardship, God was working for the good of Gideon and Israel. To be sure, Gideon would have had God work differently, but he eventually learned that God’s ways good in themselves, and, ultimately, for our good as we love Him and answer His call and purpose. God doesn’t work for us, and I’m thankful He doesn’t! What a wreck our wills would work. History is an ongoing diary of this fact. But God does work for what is good for us. Even in His surprises.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8.28
11. God’s surprises remind us of His love.
Why would God trouble Himself to descend into a threshing floor in a nation that had long been unfaithful to him? His love. God had chosen to set his love on Israel. He came that day to remind them of this unchanging truth. Just this morning in a coaching call, a pastor who has been through a very difficult season of unexpected surprises told me how these challenges have shaped him and reminded him of God’s love. It’s not that he wanted these surprises on his journey, but they have served to strengthen his soul and deepen him in God’s love. God has used these surprises to set him and his family securely on the Rock of Ages.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5.8
12. God’s surprises teach us to fold into Him as our life and hope.
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore. Psalm 131
A FINAL THOUGHT
In life, discouragement can, surprisingly, become delight. However, in a fallen world, life’s surprises can also come with disappointing disclosures. But our sovereign God and loving Heavenly Father has a way of redeeming these disappointments, yielding life-changing treasures that, from His perspective, were always there, just waiting to be revealed in their time. He makes all things beautiful in their time.
Surprise!
Do you realize that God has never realized anything? He has never been, nor will ever be surprised.
Be it music, the affairs of nations, or our lives, what we call surprises are never surprises to God.
From eternity past, and in infinite detail, God has always known the beginning, the end, and every step along the journey of time. In your life and mine.
From our perspective as hikers in a mountain forest that we have never walked before, every twist in the trail brings new uncertainties and discoveries. But to the One who created the forest and mountain, not one turn of the trail is a revelation or surprise. Just so, as Creator and Lord, every step of our journey is clear to Him, even before we take it.
He who formed the mountain and the forest formed your trail. It is He who faithfully guides.
May every surprise along your life’s journey serve to make all this more and more abundantly clear.
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it. Psalm 139.1-6
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