Unexpected

• Love in the midst of indifference
• Joy in the midst of sorrow
• Peace in the midst of chaos
• Patience in the midst of frenzy
• Kindness in the midst of cruelty
• Goodness in the midst of evil
• Faithfulness in the midst of carelessness
• Gentleness in the midst of hardness
• Self-control in the midst of a world spiraling out of control

have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, emphasis added).

“for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28 ESV). Maybe there’s more.

consistent (Hebrews 13:8).
• We can expect streams in our desert (Isaiah 43:19).
• We can expect impenetrable walls to come down (Joshua 6:20).
• We can expect God to make a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43:16).
• We can expect our mourning to turn to gladness (Psalm 30:11).
• We can expect our sorrow to be turned to joy (Psalm 30:11).
• We can expect our broken heart to be bound up (Psalm 147:3).
• We can expect deliverance from our enemies (Psalm 60:12).
• We can expect our giants to be defeated (1 Samuel 14:47).
• We can expect that no temptation will be more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We can expect that he is working all things together for our good and his glory (Romans 8:28).
• We can expect that no weapon forged against us will prevail (Isaiah 54:17).
• We can expect to be more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who strengthens us (Romans 8:37).
• We can expect that greater is he that is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
• We can expect our God to be for us (Romans 8:31).
• We can expect God to be our very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
• We can expect God to care for us (1 Peter 5:7).
• We can expect Jesus Christ

we could get this truth deeply woven into the fabric of our being, we would be far less fearful in a world that is complex and ever-changing. We could relax in knowing that while we cannot expect to control the unexpected, God is in control of everything, and therefore we can expect that he will be faithful to the promises he has given us in his Word.
• We can expect that his grace will be sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).
• We can expect that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews

embrace and understand that through unexpected occurrences in life—both good and bad—we need to trust God, anticipating him to move in it while he moves us through it. We need to realize that he never expected us to live boring and predictable lives, even though we work hard to create regular routines. He’s called us to live lives full of joys and sorrows, battles and celebrations, successes and failures, ups and downs. And he wants us to learn how to live expecting to gain from the unexpected, especially as the world grows ever more chaotic and unpredictable.

But I’m thankful that because of the unexpected, who I am today is different from the Christine I was a few years ago. I’m much more compassionate, much more empathetic to people’s pain, much more understanding when people go through a challenge. I do wish it hadn’t happened, but I wouldn’t want to go back to who I was before it happened.
I believe it’s time for us to get good

I’m thankful that because of the unexpected, who I am today is different from the Christine I was a few years ago. I’m much more compassionate, much more empathetic to people’s pain, much more understanding when people go through a challenge.

wants to pull our focus away from God’s promises and divert it to our crisis.