Expectantly Surprised

OK, so this past week I've entered into a number of conversations with some close friends about the young man you've been reading about in my blog posts for the past few months. I'm at the point of thinking "Fish or cut bait," and as I said in a previous post, that's his place, not mine.

So, one things that the Lord has been impressing on my heart through the conversations I've had this week, mostly through email, is that we often set ourselves up for failure. By this I don't simply mean that we sabbotage every thing that we want, but that we are used to not getting the best out of life so often that we "brace ourselves for the worst," as one friend put it, "because the best can't possibly come true."

Another friend put it this way: "Does life, does God offer us more than we expect, and in our old mind set, we turn it down so we can accept something less; something we're more comfortable with? We find ourselves surprised out of the blue by life, but the surprise makes us uncomfortable rather than gleeful, and so we pass up the opportunity so we can remain safe in a state of wanting, but not having. Loneliness or unfulfillment becomes a companion we don't want to let go of." (Used by permission of author)

WOW! How often do we pass up what God is offering us because we're afraid to take the risk? How often do we go back to what's comfortable simply to not have to change our thinking that we'll never see God's hand?

I'll close with what this friend said in response to his own words to me: "I just need to be ready to say "yes" to the next surprise God decides to spring on me."

Let's say yes to God, take the risk, even if it means getting hurt, and live life to the fullest God has intended.