Day 6 — Welcoming the Unexpected

Main verse

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? […]”
— Isaiah 43:19 (excerpt) (KJV)

Meditation

We often like new beginnings provided they resemble what we imagined. We prepare our plans, set our deadlines, and picture the outcome we want. Then life takes another direction.

The unexpected can fill us with wonder, but it can also unsettle us. A door closes. An encounter changes our priorities. An unforeseen responsibility appears. What we carefully arranged must be reconsidered.

God is not the author of every difficulty, but no circumstance deprives Him of the possibility of acting. In the wilderness, He promises to open a way and make rivers flow. Where we see only emptiness, He already sees a passage.

Welcoming the unexpected does not turn every sorrow into a blessing or release us from acting wisely. Yet such openness allows God to lead us differently from what we planned.

God’s new work sometimes begins quietly. It appears like a small shoot that could easily be crushed or overlooked. To recognize it, we must slow down, look, and ask: ‘Lord, what are You bringing to life here?’

What overturns our plans today could become, in God’s hands, the opening of a path we would never have chosen on our own.

Psalm

Psalm 40:1–5 (KJV)

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD ; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. ² He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. ³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it , and fear, and shall trust in the LORD . ⁴ Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. ⁵ Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them , they are more than can be numbered.

Further Bible reading

Isaiah 43:16–21; Acts 16:6–10

Suggested hymn

The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 393 — “He Leadeth Me”

View the hymn reference ↗

Prayer

Lord, my plans reassure me, and the unexpected troubles me. Give me wisdom to distinguish what I must refuse, what I must go through, and what I can receive. Open my eyes to the new work You may already be doing. Make my heart willing to follow Your guidance. Amen.

A thought to keep

When my plans change, God’s possibilities do not disappear.

Personal Notes

What would you like to remember, pray about, or put into practice today?