Proverbs 16:33 “Man may make his plans and carry them forth, but God has the final say”.
Life has been described as a circus, a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle, a deck of cards, a carousel, a theatrical play, an adventure, a sporting event, a merry-go-round, a symphony, a quest, a race, a party, a dance, or a journey.
I like the description of life, as an unfinished painting which is always in progress. Each day I live, each life that touches mine, each experience and each situation are the brush being dipped in a new color added to the canvas of my journey…
If I hang around you long enough, I will discover what really matters to you and how the things you value most are the colors which help you make sense of life… You express these things constantly by the clothes you wear, your use of time, your choice of music, the people you hang out with, what you read, the car you drive, your hairstyle, the bumper stickers on your car, and even the tattoos you may wear. (on and on we could go, but these are a few)
If you view life as a race, then you give value to training and endurance. If you see life as a party, then you likely value your fun.
If you see life as a game, then you probably are all about winning and losing. If you see life is a theatrical play, then you probably value the story line and the cast of characters.
If life is like a mountain climb to you, then you are probably all about accomplishment and achievement.
If the mirror you’re viewing your journey through is distorted or unclear, then you will have false or unreal expectations, which will leave you in a state of constant disappointment. At one Army base, the training at the rifle range was canceled but the 10 mile run was still on as planned. One soldier was heard saying, “Does it bother anyone else that the Army doesn't seem to care how well we can shoot, but they are extremely interested in how fast we can run?”
The good news is that we serve a God who has already been where we are going and He has been preparing for our arrival and knows the best route to take.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also”.
In Tolkin’s novel which became the movie, “The Hobbit”, Bilbo Baggins figures his life will be like all the other Hobbits in the Shire. He will live and die in the small community he is a part of. But along comes Gandalf who chooses him as the unlikely candidate to help the dwarves reclaim their kingdom of Erabor from a dragon named Smaug. Suddenly he is launched into a most unexpected adventure and our hero is faced with a choice: stay or go? Stay in the warmth of a peaceful existence in the Shire, a predictable life with predictable outcomes, or go and risk your life with 13 strangers on an unexpected journey that changes all of their lives forever…
The Hobbit is a lot like reading the unexpected journey of Abraham, or Joseph, or Moses, or David, or Jonah….
God’s Word tells us that life is a test, about trust, beliefs, our core values and the ability to see that there’s more than what it appears to be at any given moment. We see that all the heroes of the bible….
What God said to Abraham, He says to all of us today in our unexpected journey….
He told him to go out to a place He would show him…..He said “I will bless you”…. He told him, “There is greatness in you”…. And He said “you will be a blessing to many others”….
Everything happened with Father Abraham, just as God had said, and the same will always be true as we obey the Lord.
In the midst of all the unexpected, there were things that could always be expected ….As you obey, you will reach your destination….“He will bless you”…. “There is greatness in you”…. “You will be a blessing to many others”…. This is the title deed, signed by God, to your spiritual heritage. Don’t let anyone or anything tear it from your grasp!
There was nothing in Abram’s life that made him deserve to receive God’s blessing, but he was chosen by God to receive His blessings and favor and it is because He chose you, that you receive it as well….
The unexpected journey is the journey “of Consecration…it’s Jesus saying to us the same thing he spoke to the disciples… “Come Follow Me”
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. v4 According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him as we are covered in His love. v5 For He has predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His own will, v6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has already made us accepted in the beloved”.
For those early Bible pioneers, every mile took them further away from what they relied upon as their security, and caused them to depend more upon God. All the comfortable and enjoyable sights and sounds of home were a distant memory.
Make no mistake, friend…. The real purpose of your journey is an encounter with God. He is making His story into your story. And He wants to finish what He has begun in you….
1Chronicles 28:20 “Be strong and of good courage, and just do it. Fear not, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God, will be with you, He will not fail you, nor forsake you, and you shall finish all the work of the LORD”.
A test was done by a university using subjects ranging from groups of kindergartners through adults…. Each group of 20 people had 19 who were in on the test and 1 who was the Guinea pig. The person conducting the test drew 3 lines on a chalk board. The group was told to raise their hand when he pointed to the longest line. The leader would point to the second longest line and all 19 who were in on the test would raise their hand. The Guinea pig didn’t agree, but would look around and see every hand raised but his and then raise his hand to. This happened 75% of the time in groups of every age. The conclusion of the test was that the majority of the time, people would rather choose to be popular and accepted than be right!
Those fathers of the faith we read about in the bible, were tested constantly in their unexpected journey and the majority of the time, they chose to be right according to a higher truth, than be accepted and popular.
Our journey is filled with all kinds of obstacles - Canaanites, Perizites, Jebusites, termites and cellulites. (a lot of “ites”)
How you handle these obstacles or your “ites”, will determine if you succeed or get stuck somewhere in your journey.
Words like “trials,” “temptations” and “refining fire” show up often. God is watching your response to people , problems, pain, privilege, possessions, pleasures, pay, parents, past, present, pollution, persecution and poverty. Here’s the good news. God wants you to be a success, to overcome and to overflow in every way possible. Here’s what He promises us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation (test/obstacle) has happened to you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful, He will never let you be tempted (tested) beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will always provide a way out (and may I add under, over, around or through it) so that you can win it!
A condemned prisoner who was awaiting execution was granted the privilege of choosing whatever dishes he wanted to eat for his last meal. He ordered a large platter of mushrooms. The prison guard asked him "Why are you just eating all these mushrooms and nothing else?" "Well," replied the prisoner, "I always wanted to try them, but before now, I was always afraid I would die if I ate them!"
The Unexpected Journey is about Facing Your Fears…. The fears you don’t face have become your new limits…. And every time we speak out of fear, we are designing our future with our words! Let me ask you, if you overcame your fear, what would you be able to do? What is “fear”….? It is “False Evidence Appearing Real”…..
If obeying God would kill you, just how many times would you be dead already!!!!!!
Everyone is going to die, but wouldn’t it be worse to die for no cause at all… just die because that’s what everybody has to do…. The men of the bible died fearless, classic deaths, that was part of thetestimony. THEY WERE REAL CLASS ACTS! What do I mean by that? I mean that they died the way they lived… Bold, brave, courageous. I think of Isaac and Jacob who called their kids and laid their hands on them in blessing before they died. I think of Samson whose final act in death was pulling the roof down on his enemies so that he killed more in death than in life. I think of Stephen who was stoned and as he died, he looked up and saw Jesus welcoming him home. I think of the apostle Paul and the disciples who were busy sharing Jesus with folks right up to the moment of death. And how Jesus died so that we could live bold and full lives and then empowered us to die a victorious death as well.
This unexpected Journey is about Divine encounters that God has waiting for us… God walked and talked each day with Adam and Eve in the garden. He gave clear and precise instructions to Noah. He was a close friend to Abraham so much so that Abraham was know as the “Friend of God”… Jacob certainly knew what it was like to experience Divine intervention….Paul had such an encounter that he didn’t know if he was in the body or out of the body….John the Revelator was so caught up in the heavenlies that he was able to record all that is coming on the earth, as we get to the end of days.
God turns the unexpected journey to the transformative journey!!!
We are the clay and He is the master potter and the journey He has us on is the hand of God that is shaping us. We’re not who we started out to be and we aren’t who we are going to be by the end of this “Hobbit” journey.
This is your story we’re talking about. It’s an amazing story…..God wants to use it….It marks a new way of seeing things, a new direction, a place where I suddenly realized why I was going through this valley, climbing this difficult, rocky mountain and experiencing this wilderness place .
The unexpected journey is the In between place… We might call it being between a rock and a hard place….Abraham and forerunners like him, built altars to mark their journey and so should we. An altar is a place where you get things rearranged and repositioned before the Lord. An altar is a stake in the ground. It is a place where you anchor to God and His presence, His promises and His provision. Altars were like a declaration that shouted “Here’s where God showed up and showed off in my journey.”
On one occasion it says that Abraham pitched his tent between Ai and Bethel. That’s significant, because Ai means “a heap of ruins” and Bethel means “The place of His presence”…Abraham was declaring that no matter where this journey takes me, I’m keeping my eyes on Him because whatever I’m going through, and wherever I am, He is with me and it becomes the place of His presence!
We were made by God for His purposes, and when that bad thing happened that threw you off course….when the injustice that let you down so you lost your way, took place…. When that person betrayed you…. What will it matter in 100 years (after all you’re going to live to be at least a million) Be like the sweet old lady who was so cheerful and had no enemies in the world, because she had out lived them all!!!!
Keep moving forward….and don’t look back, you’re not going that way! Your life will have many stories but your life is more than your stories…. Your life becomes part of your arsenal, so you can pass through to your next story. Don’t hold on to any stories that want to keep you from advancing, and don’t let any one place define you… keep moving forward, because you are more than the sum total of any one story.
Some folks have gotten stuck in the part of the story where someone left them, or where they were treated badly on the job, or where they were used and abused….. You’re just moving from your Ai (the heap of ruin) to Bethel (the presence of God)!!!
I love that part in Samson’s story where he was confronted with a lion and he slew the lion, then some time later, as he passed that way, it says that he took honey from the carcass of the lion. Come on!!! Take some honey from the very thing that attacked you!!!
Keep moving! Don’t stop….. there’s a lot of journey left in you!
Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world!
This is when you Lift your voice and sing “To God be the glory, to God be the glory, to God be the glory, For the things He has done. With His blood He has saved me, with His power He has raised me, To God be the glory, for the things He has done.”
The Unexpected Journey Releases The Power of Change…..
My daughter Karen is constantly rearranging everything in her house. I have to be careful when I go to sit down that the chair is still there. She loves interior design. She enjoys changing things around.
That’s the way God is…. We see change as threatening but God sees it as opportunity. He loves to take all the painful places in our story and rearrange them to help us find a new way we never thought of before.
Our story is a blend of the natural and supernatural….. Romans 8:4 “….We walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. v5 Forthey that are after the flesh focus on the things of the flesh; but they that are spiritually minded, the things of the Spirit. v6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”…
At the center of Joseph’s life story was a coat of many colors and a dream. His story like ours, is a beautiful blend of the natural realm and the supernatural realm. We are always looking to see where God’s spiritual is woven into our natural. Elias Howe invented the sewing machine in 1846. He had the idea of a machine with a needle that would go through a piece of cloth, but he couldn't figure out exactly how it would work. He first tried using a needle that was pointed at both ends, with an eye in the middle, but it was a failure. Then one night he dreamed he was taken prisoner by a group of natives. He was told he had only that night to come up with a solution to his sewing machine, or he’d be executed. He worked desperately but with no solution to be found. As he was being taken to be executed, the Indians were dancing around him with spears. It was then that he noticed that their spears all had holes near their tips!
When he woke up, he realized that the dream had brought the solution to his problem. By locating a hole at the tip of the needle, the thread could be caught after it went through the cloth, which made his machine successful. He changed his design to incorporate the dream and found that it worked!
The closer you get to Jesus, the more willing you are to let go of everything that isn’t part of His story and His purpose for you.
I’m reminded of the sculptor who was asked what he was carving. He said he was carving an angel. It’s really very easy, I simply remove all the stone that isn’t an angel and I set him free!!!
God is chipping away everything that isn’t His best for you. Let Him remove everything that isn’t your story, and release it to become what it was always meant to be.
The unexpected place is the place to shine…..God wants you to shine and show off his grace through the unexpected places. It is in those times that others will be attracted to the God you serve.
As author John Baker said, "You will never know that God is all you need until God is all you've got”.
It was true at the Red Sea crossing, It was true when Elijah faced the prophets of Baal on Carmel, it was true as David stepped in front of the giant, and it was true as Noah locked his little family in the ark…. It will be true of us as well and we will all find ourselves in those places.
As Joseph said to his brothers at the end of his story that is recorded in Genesis 50:19 ”Don't be afraid, Am I in the place of God? v20 You intended it for evil, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
And all of Israel walked out of Egypt at God’s appointed time, because Joseph was faithful and let it shine, on his unexpected journey.
Just as God had a butler, a baker and a Pharaoh lined up for Joseph, I believe He has the right people, in the right place at the right time for you as well! God could have kept Joseph from prison, Daniel from the Lion's den, and Paul from being shipwrecked three times – but He didn't because He was more interested in revealing His glory than He was in their comfort… and when we are willing to shine in those type of places we will see His glory as well.
I have prayed my best prayers in my darkest of days. I have encountered God in glorious worship when I felt abandoned and out of all options. When I have faced pain and overwhelming problems, I needed to know that the darkest night is just before the dawn. Oh, yes, This hope we have to sustain us and motivate us.
1John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. v3 And every man that has this hope in Him purifies and prepares himself”.
Eugene Land was a self-made millionaire. He had been a featured speaker at board meetings and conventions. However, on a fall day in East Harlem, Mr. Land was about to face an audience that simply terrified him, it was 59 sixth graders. What could he say to inspire these students, in a school with a dismal graduation rate. He expected blank stares and hard hearts. Ignoring his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart and an unexpected journey began to happen. He told them, “Stay in school, and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you that graduates.” Six years later, nearly 90% of that 6th grade class went on to graduate from high school. These are just a few of them. One class member said, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. I had hope and an opportunity.”
We have something to look forward to, God has something waiting for us.
“Your harvest is in the unexpected places”…. God has your harvest in the unexpected places….Here’s the story about the picture on the screen….
An African Christian said that during the depression he lost his job and had spent all of his life savings." He said, "One Sunday night both of us wanted to go to church but the church was eight miles away, and bus fare was ten cents, and we only had fifteen cents to our names. His wife said, 'Honey, you walk to church, and when you get to church you put a nickel in, and when you leave, you'll have a dime to ride back.
So he walked to church and as he was walking, he felt blessed because I thought about people who didn't have no legs to walk. When he got to church, the Holy Ghost said, 'Put the whole fifteen cents in.' And he started arguing with the Lord.
"The choir started singing, but all he could hear them singing was, 'Put the whole fifteen cents in.' When it came time for the announcements all he could hear was “Put the whole fifteen cents in.” He put it in and watched that offering plate take his last money in the world further and further away from him. The sermon that Sunday was 'They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles.' Well, that got him ready for the 8 mile walk home.
One block from the church a strange lady stopped him. She said, 'Mister, I don't know you, but, here, take this address, and if you need work they're hiring there tomorrow.' He walked another block, and the Spirit of the Lord said, 'Look down.' When he looked down, there was a dime. As soon as he picked the dime up, a bus pulled up. He put his dime in, and it gave him back fifteen cents change. He said, I got too much back. The bus driver said, 'Shut up, man, and sit down.' He said, 'Thank you, Jesus.' He got back home, blessed with a job, blessed with the same fifteen cents he left home with. And he’s worked at that job for thirty-three years!
Where’s the best place to be? The best place to be is Right Where You Are….. That’s God’s starting line for you!
When you pull up Google maps, it will begin with where you are, and it will take you from there….God starts right where you are!
The lion’s den for Daniel, was the perfect place to be. The fiery furnace for the three Hebrews, was the best place they could be. The storm at sea, and a sinking boat, was the perfect place for Peter and the disciples to be, because it was a miraculous place, where God could do His supernatural work. Where He could show His power and cause unbelievers to be brought to Him.
The lions, the furnaces, the storms, the seeming impossibilities, are all in the hands of the one who works all things according to His will.
In the center of His Will, we find direction and guidance; for He knows the Way. In the center of His Will, we have His protection and provision; for He is our refuge. At the center of His Will, we have assurance of hope, fullness of joy, and the promise of peace, for HE is with us!! He is our hope, He is our joy, and He is our peace!
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you, says the LORD, plans for peace, and not for evil, to give you an expected end”.
I want to close with this thought, when Jesus told the disciples to cast the net on the other side of the boat… they were tired from fishing all night, and they just wanted to clean and mend their nets and go home to rest before the next day of fishing started. But Jesus wanted them to claim a harvest in an unexpected place .
Claim Your Harvest in the Unexpected Place…. I believe Jesus is telling us that we need to claim the unexpected harvest! He’s the same God who fed Elijah with ravens, Manna came from heaven, the five loaves and fish multiplied, water turned into wine, and a boat sinking catch of fish could have only happened in an unexpected place ….
God enables someone to sell a home even though “no one’s buying”
He enables you to find a job even though “no one’s hiring”
He enables you to get through something you thought would be too difficult to finish”
He enables you to do something you thought would be impossible”
He brings reconciliation with someone who has an “irreconcilable difference”
He gives strength to go through something that you thought you could never endure” Women who were barren, gave birth to children…and Abraham and Sarah had a son, she was 90 and he was 100 years old….The sun and the moon stood still for Joshua so he could take the victory… Peter was drowning, and the Lord let him walk on water..
Claim the unexpected harvest and the victory He has for you, in your unexpected places on your unexpected journey!
