“No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.” — Julius Caesar

“Let us ask ourselves today:  Are we open to God’s surprises?” – Pope Francis

Have you ever been so caught off guard by something that it left you with a feeling like you’ve never experienced before?  Was the shock so intense, it brought you to your knees – having no more strength to stand?  Was the pain so overpowering that the only way it could be physically released was through sobbing and wailing uncontrollably?  Was the surprise so astounding, so devastating, that you couldn’t speak, think clearly, or even fathom what the next hours or days would look like?

“I don’t love you anymore.  I’ve found someone better suited for me – someone who I really love.”

“The test results came back positive.  The best estimate I can give you?  I believe you have roughly 3-6 months remaining.”

“I’m sorry but there has been a terrible accident, and no one survived.”

“I don’t know what happened and I never saw this coming, but they decided to take their own life last night.  I had no idea they hurt so terribly!”

“They left.  They took all their stuff.  I have no idea where they went or if they’re ok.”

“We were talking like we normally do and all of a sudden they collapsed and they were gone!”

I don’t know about you, but I have experienced some of these things.  It is so hard to put into words what it feels like – to try and articulate what the mind and heart are going through in the moments following being caught off guard – when something horrible comes out of nowhere.

Can you relate to being taken by surprise, dazed, and startled like this?

It feels like nothing is under control or ever can be again.  The fear is gripping and the depths of sadness are so great, originating from the deepest parts of you.  You shake uncontrollably from the shock.  You don’t cry, you weep.

When you think about this in the context of the quote from Pope Francis I mentioned earlier, it leaves you wondering where God is in surprising moments like this.  How can a God of sovereignty act so out of control?  How can an omnipotent God be left powerless to devastating circumstances like these?  How does His unending love for us coexist or even intermingle with such deep, deep sorrow?

These profound surprises, these events or circumstances that totally catch us off guard, they have a way of bringing us face to face with the ultimate question of our existence:  What is this life really all about?  It’s almost as if there is intended design behind being caught off guard – asking us to fear or have faith, to trust or to lose all hope, to believe there is more or to believe in nothing at all.

Some of us get so caught off guard, so shocked and so devastated, we throw in the towel.  We reason to ourselves that it must be fate, luck, or randomness that drive this life of ours.  A loving God can’t possibly allow such hurt, and if He does; then He isn’t worth loving or serving in return.

If He can take my child from me, if He can look the other way during the suicide attempt, if He can allow the affair that ruins a family forever, and if He can strip me of my health and wellbeing in the prime of life, then why should I trust?  Why should I have hope anymore?  Why should I believe or have faith in anything?

One thing I can tell you from my own experiences with being caught off guard – they have brought me to the end of myself.  I’ve realized how little I can control, how little I understand, and how helpless I truly am when facing uncertainty.  Humbly embracing our humanity has a way of leading us to the Creator – the Source of all things.  It’s as if this leading is meant to be, pushing us toward greater purposes, deeper meaning, and more significant, long-term implications – far greater than what has caught us off guard in the immediate moment or taken us by surprise.

Also in these moments, I have experienced the love of family and friends, divinely timed intervals of quiet and peace within the chaos, and the strength that seems to come out of nowhere to take the next step and face a new day.

This kind of love, this kind of peace, this kind of strength are not fate driven.  We don’t experience them randomly or out of luck somehow.  They are filled with purpose and meaning – they are a part of our journey – a part of our destiny.

One of the reasons I love nature so much is that it grounds me – centers me and prepares me for the surprises of life.  When I see the grandeur and vastness of earth and sky but can see the intricate detail of a blooming flower, the reliability and timeliness of seasons, the perfect rotation and orbit that causes our days and nights to arrive right on schedule, I begin to see the order of things.  When I look at the moon and stars, I begin to see the greater design of it all.  These things are not man-made but intricately created and planned.

We, like the Creation, have been created – arriving and departing in perfect time and precise order.  Each of us is a part of the greater design – a design that is far from random or without meaning.

“I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” – Isaiah 45:7 KJV

“What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.” – Isaiah 46:11 NIV

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not My ways.” – Isaiah 55:8 HCSB

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” – Psalm 24:1 NIV

“Be still and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10 NLT

“Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 GNT

“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?” – Lamentations 3:37 NIV

“The Lord will fulfill His purposes for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever.” – Psalm 138: 8 NIV

We may be caught off guard, but God isn’t.  We may not be able to make sense of it all, but His thoughts and ways are higher than ours.  We may be surprised and brought to the end of ourselves, but God is in control and His purposes for us will be fulfilled.

There is far more to the story my friend – far more than we can ever fathom or understand.  Rest in this knowledge.  Realize the surprises, twists, and turns of life have a loving timeliness to them just like the seasons.  We may not understand or comprehend them, but there is a purpose behind that as well – maybe one that leads us to that all important question I was referring to earlier.

Let’s choose faith and not fear.  Let’s trust, like we do for the sun to rise tomorrow and the stars to shine at night.  Let’s believe in deeper purposes – not in random fate.

Let’s be enlightened to the truth that surprises are not really surprises at all.