We will now move on to chapter six which is entitled, "Expect the Unexpected." Now, I know many of us have heard this many times in our lives - expect the unexpected. In this chapter, Dr. Stanley talks about surprise visits - sometimes these are from God. He may speak to our spirit when we are seeking answers in prayer to Him.
Other times, we may have been praying about a particular matter, proceed with our regular Bible reading and run across passages of scripture that initially seem to be totally unrelated to us. Then, suddenly, we realize that the words we are reading directly address the very situation we have been asking guidance on.
Dr. Stanley points out that sometimes the Lord may tell us to step forward by faith - but may only give us a single bit of information or instruction. Now, I think where most of us have a problem with this is our impatience. I know I have a huge problem with impatience! We want to know it all - and we want to know it RIGHT NOW!
Many of you may be thinking - I'm not impatient. OK - let's look at that. How many of you that think you are not impatient still bake a potato in a conventional oven, which takes approximately one and one-half hours when you can bake one in eight minutes in the microwave? How many of you have bought a new computer within the last 12 months because you needed a "faster" processor so that the computer would operate faster. In our world of developing technologies, it seems that the faster things operate - the faster we want them to operate. Yes - I am the person who bakes potatoes in the microwave and owns a BUNN coffee maker because I do not want to wait 5 to 10 minutes for a pot of coffee.
But - this is not God's way. Dr. Stanley points out that is God reveals His entire plan to us, we could become overwhelmed, discouraged or even prideful. He also reminds us that God operates on His timetable - not ours. I think this is another difficult concept for us. We tend to think in "human" terms - not "heavenly" terms.
Dr. Stanley gives many examples in this chapter of how God surprises us and the reasons for these surprises. This chapter is instrumental in understanding how we can overcome our impatience and learn to look at things in "heavenly" terms; how we can come to understand and accept that things happen on God's timetable; and how we can learn to walk in step with God.
If you do not currently own this book, but often have trouble understanding how our Christian life is to be a blessed and joyful one, I strongly recommend this book.
Until next time when we discuss Chapter Seven - "Right on Time."
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