October 12, 2007

Surprise!

I entered the CLC on Tuesday at about 6:30 a.m. along with a church member and friend who works out at about the same time as I. “Can you believe those Cowboys?” he moaned. “What losers!”

“Did you watch the game last night?” I asked.

“Yea, till the middle of the fourth quarter. I finally got so disgusted I just went to bed.”

“Gary, I’ve got news for you…” and you know the rest of the story. The Cowboys won with a brilliant 53 yard field goal on the final play of the game after what was, in fact, a pretty miserable night. What was really fun, however, was the razzing that Gary took during the first 15 minutes of his workout (Obviously, I couldn’t restrain myself from telling this story to everyone in the gym. The laughter sure lightened the workout!).

I don’t know if you have ever noticed this or not, but the Bible is a book that is absolutely full of surprises. I’m currently preaching a series on one of those stories, the children’s favorite about David and Goliath. Who could have ever predicted the boy’s surprise victory over the seasoned warrior? But then there is Jonah surviving his “fishing” expedition, Daniel outlasting the Lion’s Den, and a carpenter’s boy from a little rural town as the Messiah. Start reading and you will discover one surprise after another, and this awesome fact: with God it’s never over until God says it is over.

This is what that means for your life and mine: with God things are never predictable, and so a person always has to stay tuned for the final play. What sometimes looks like a defeat is simply God’s prelude to victory, or what is experienced as pain is the introduction to a period of deep and abiding joy.

You might fall asleep or just turn off the Cowboys, but don’t ever do that with God. What God can accomplish in the final minutes of the fourth quarter makes the Cowboys look like rank amateurs.