How many times could you begin or end one of your stories with this line? “I thought it was going to be different!”
Often in life things simply turn out different than what we expected, what we imagined, what we hoped, or what we desired. In fact, there are seasons of life where it seems like most of our stories are somewhat unlike what we thought was going to happen. I could compose an entire page of the stories I’ve heard in counseling as well as add several of my own. Some of the most common would include marriage, a job, a vehicle, a house, pregnancy, birth, a vacation, many different individual conversations, a new recipe, and on and on we could go.
Here’s the reality: things do not turn out like you expect every day. Surprisingly, at times they turn out better. Often it seems, they turn out worse.
Expect the Unexpected
Solomon says to expect the unexpected. He asks two rhetorical questions – both of which demand a “No one” answer (Eccl 6:12). “For who knows what is best for a person during his life?…Who can tell what the future will hold?”
Solomon points out that the only one who knows our future and knows what the future holds is God (Eccl 7:13). He continues, “Consider the work of God: for who can make straight what He has made crooked?” Essentially the plan and wisdom of God is both unchangeable and incomprehensible. How God’s plan plays out in the day-to-day, hour-by-hour, and moment-by-moment instances of life is impossible to know. What you believe is going to be one way turns out differently. What you think must be bad, sometimes is surprisingly positive. What you know is going to be great, sometimes is very negative in your assessment.
Embrace the Moment
Solomon continues his assessment. “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him” (Eccl 7:14). There are three ideas here that you do not want to miss.
First, Whatever you get today, embrace it. If it is a good day, enjoy it while recognizing it as part of God’s grace and plan. If it is a bad day, use the disappointment to consider God’s work and your life. Use this moment as an opportunity to reflect on who you are, what you do, and how God would have you to honor Him in this disappointment. Both will come – prosperity and adversity. Whatever you have today, respond to today.If it is a good day, enjoy it while recognizing it as part of God's grace and plan. If it is a bad day, use the disappointment to consider God's work and your life. Share on X
Second, God appoints our days. Solomon points out that what seemingly looks so haphazard is part of God’s greater plan. In fact, it is so much apart of His plan that Solomon refers to it as appointed. This is one of the great mysteries in the Bible and forces us to humbly trust God. That is, although we have personal choices to make each day for which we are responsible, God’s plan is being worked out through those individual choices. You could view it this way: God allows or orchestrates all the various circumstances and individual choices in the world to ultimately fulfill His plan which will be for our good and His glory (Rom 8:28-29). God is not responsible for evil (James 1:13) but seamlessly fits it in our story. Again, here is where we must trust God and recognize the mystery of His plan....although we have personal choices to make each day for which we are responsible, God's plan is being worked out through those individual choices. Share on X
Third, You do not know what is coming next. God has intentionally placed days of prosperity next to days of adversity and days of adversity next to days of prosperity. The problem for us – we can’t see which one is next. It is like travelling through a very thick fog bank. It is impossible to see what is in front of you. You can have a GPS which generally will guide you; however, you must be on continual guard to what is immediately in front of you. This is the way of life. We have a general, comprehensive guide to help us navigate our way – the Bible. So we take the Bible and use it to give us discernment and direction as we seek to respond to what is immediately in front of us.We have a general, comprehensive guide to help us navigate our way - the Bible. So we take the Bible and use it to give us discernment and direction as we seek to respond to what is immediately in front of us. Share on X
Humbly, Embrace God
At the end of the day, the goal is to humbly embrace God in the midst of our circumstances. Whatever unexpected joy or disappointment you face today, embrace the God behind it. If your day is full of pleasure, gratefully accept it as part of God’s plan and rejoice in it. If you day is full of adversity, humbly and gratefully accept that as well as part of God’s plan and seek wisdom in the midst of it.
Do not let the circumstance define you in either way. Your life is not made up of one instance. Your greatest success or greatest failure actually fits a larger plan of which God orchestrates for your good. But that one instance of success or failure, unexpected joy or disappointment, good decision gone awry or bad decision turned out fine does not ultimately determine who you are.
Your response to it, though, does determine who you will be. If good, be humble and rejoice in God’s plan. If bad, be humble, consider your own heart, and trust God’s plan. Your response is the key. Humble. You better be or it will only create greater disappointment in the future. Grateful. Yes, God is in control. Responsible. You are for your response to whatever it is in your life today and how you respond to your past circumstances as well (Eccl 7:8-10).
May God grant us all the wisdom, humility, and gratitude to embrace and appropriately respond to what is right in front of us today – even if we would say, “I thought it was going to be different!”
KevinCarson.com | Walking together through life as friends in Christ sharing wisdom along the journey
