Good-Bye Past, But Thanks for the Memories!

I randomly watched the televised Garth Brooks Concert at Notre Dame last week. Impressive, massive crowd to hear him as he was literally “singing in the rain”. When he sang, “I Thank God for Unanswered Prayers”, I’ll admit I had to sit down and watch him AND the camera’s crowd highlights of couples looking into each other’s eyes, and even Garth’s eyes tearing up. I knew they were thinking “Thank God for not answering my prayers because if He had answered ‘yes’ to those prayers, no telling what my life would look like today!”

Maybe someone you really cared about broke up with you and now you look at them on Facebook and the life they’re living and you fall on your knees and thank God for NOT answering those prayers. Now you can thank God they broke your heart. Look what could have been. Look what the Lord has done. Maybe we don’t, right this minute, understand the reasons, but we can still praise God for the result.

I thought about the prayers I prayed over the years, asking God for a miracle in the midst of some of the toughest times. Good thing “His ways are so much higher than my ways” (Isaiah 55:8) because “my ways” would sure have borne some uncomfortable results. Now, looking back at 2018, we may be assessing how much we enjoyed the high points OR despising the low points.

I heard someone say that our lives our made up of highs and lows and we are the summation of all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. They said we shouldn't judge our lives by the minute by minute experiences, because if we did that when we went to Disney World, we'd rate our experiences so low that we would never want to go back. You know, the long lines we stand in and all the heat we endure. So when we think about 2018, we shouldn’t be so quick to call it a bad year, just because we went through some hard things. There were definitely some really good things that happened, too! By faith, we should accept whatever happened as part of God’s way of choosing to not answer some of our prayers the way we thought they should be answered. It is far better for us to have a story of grace that carried us through in the midst of it all!

Maybe, you think you’re chained in a Roman prison right now (metamorphically speaking) when it comes to the “stuff” you’re dealing with and the chains that bind you and the hopelessness you feel. Right while you’re there….you can hear how the Apostle Paul handled his Roman prison when he says "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7) WHAT? Rejoicing while in a damp, cold prison? Yes, rejoicing that he could write to us with the example of trusting that in EVERYTHING, God is working it ALL for our good! (Romans 8:28)

Let’s say “Good-bye to 2018 and every year before that, because the highs and lows are part of God’s master plan to make us the BEST we can be for Him and for the lives of others that we get to influence! Let 2019 breeze by with absolute trust in our Father Who knows what’s best for us – the Walt Disney experiences as well as the Roman prison ones!

And, SUDDENLY……

My word for today is SUDDLENLY: quickly and unexpectedly, immediately, instantly, without warning

Meet Red Gerard. Talk about SUDDENLY!!! On Saturday, 17-year old snowboarder, Red Gerard, from Colorado was sitting in last place heading into his third and final run. He was hoping to just get a good run and 4th place. But when the pressure was on, he delivered. During his run, Gerard's creativity was on full display, as he repeatedly used features of the course that other riders were ignoring. Red scored 87.16 from the judges, putting him in first place. The top competitors failed to exceed Red’s scores. Red received the first gold medal awarded to the U.S. team at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics AND he was the youngest snowboarder to ever win a gold medal and the youngest male athlete to win a Gold Medal since 1928 in a Winter Olympics. SUDDENLY Red's life changed forever.

I remember another SUDDENLY. Small town of Checotah, OK and the small town girl raised on a farm there -- Carrie Underwood, who just decided to try out for American Idol. Out of all those competitors she won the grand prize and SUDDENLY her life changed forever. We still love to follow her because she represents the SUDDENLIES that can happen to any who are willing to pay the price of going for their dreams.

How do we deal with the SUDDENLIES in our lives? SUDDEN illness, SUDDEN financial loss. Sudden wealth. Sudden fame.

Last week I was at a very prayerful night with others, when all of a sudden, I heard a gal who was looking at her phone exclaim “Oh, my God, NO! The stock market has crashed!” SUDDENLY, her world turned upside down, at least for that time being.

Now, let’s consider our God – Who is a God of surprises AND SUDDENLIES. And because He is God – he usually doesn't work the way we want or think. But this one thing I’ve come to know – His SUDDENLIES, for those who are His devoted followers, are filled with His power, His grace, His mercy, His love AND have learned to wait for His perfect timing. God's SUDDENLIES happen with our best interests at heart.

God always operates in a place above what we can think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). That’s because His thoughts and ways are so much higher above ours (Isaiah 55:8).

Just when we think we're boxed in on every side, God SUDDENLY provides a way of escape. Just when the last penny is spent, God SUDDENLY surprises us with a bonus. Just when we thought we were going down for the last time, God SUDDENLY shows up in a boat or helicopter. The lesson? Three words. DON’T GIVE UP!

Is the road long? Is the night too black? Are you in last place? Don't stop. God is watching. For all you know -- right at this moment -- the check may be in the mail. Opportunity could be knocking at your door -- right now! The SUDDENLIES in our lives can bless us – whether they are overwhelmingly disappointing or overwhelmingly over-abundant blessings. The point is – embrace the SUDDENLIES. They are part of the MASTER Plan of God to get us from Point A to Point Z. Don't quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer you've been waiting for!! Expect surprises. Expect SUDDENLIES!