SOMETIMES YOU'VE JUST GOT TO LAUGH

Last night I went to bed pondering two things. One was something I read in one of my devotionals about how God's story is so much better than anything we could write on our own, so we should hand the pen over to Him. 

The other was a message on livestream** that spoke of the difference between expecting and expectancy, that kind of went along with the message in the devotional.

When we expect God to do things a certain way, not only do we put Him in a box, but we leave ourselves open to disappointment when things don't turn out the way we anticipated, and disappointment can lead to a loss of faith and confidence in the Lord, as well as a loss of joy. 

Expectancy, on the other hand, is living in a state of wonderment as to what God has in store for us each day and putting Him in a wide open place to move however He wants to move. 

When I woke up in the morning I was singing, "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." I thanked Him for the gift of this new day and for watching over me and protecting me during the night, and told Him I was excited and full of expectancy because miracles happen in the blink of an eye and I knew something good was going to happen to me today. Those were a few of the affirmations I used to start my days off with back in the day, and that were now coming back to mind.

I had many plans for the day. Complete an article for work I had started the day before, finish a belated Christmas present for one granddaughter and her husband, and get that all done before heading out to a dental appointment later in the afternoon. 

Ha!

 

Normally I start off my morning with a quiet time with the Lord. But not today. Today, my toilet overflowed leaving a bunch of nasty stuff on the floor before flushing as normally as you please. It almost felt as though the devil was thumbing his nose at me and having a good laugh at my expense.

Why today? Why now?

My right hand is still not completely healed and my back aches, so nothing gets done fast, and by the time I mopped up the water, got the towels I had used into the washing machine, and cleaned and sanitized the bathroom floor, the day was half gone and it was obvious I would not be able to do any of what I had planned before it was time to leave for my appointment. 

I sat down in my little prayer corner feeling frazzled that not only would my quiet time be rushed and cut short, but there would barely even be enough left to get dressed and have something to eat before my son-in-law arrived to pick me up.  

That's when I remembered words the Lord had spoken to my heart a few days ago when I was feeling overwhelmed and fearful about an unexpected turn of events, and my mind was full of what ifs. Why was I letting Satan bully me? That's all that was happening then--and all that was happening now. 

God is faithful and in control, and His word is true. Satan is a liar and a defeated foe (Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14, John 10:10). Why am I listening to and believing the lies he plants in my head? 

I thought of Peter, who got out of the boat and was able to walk on the water as long as he kept his gaze on the Lord, but then started to sink as soon as he got distracted by the wind and the waves and started focusing on them instead (Matthew 14:27-31).

Even though the day was obviously not about to turn out the way I had planned, that didn't mean the Lord didn't have something good in store. It would just be different, and maybe even better than what I originally had in mind. And so holding on to that thought, I went back to singing my song and expecting something good to happen today.

There were quite a few more challenges before the day ended, which was how I came up with the title of this post. Sometimes when there's a string of them like that, it can seem so ludicrous you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. But there were good things as well, such as a kind, considerate, and helpful son-in-law who I got to spend some quality time with and who was a real trooper even when we had to wait over an hour for me to be seen.

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**Wonderful message by Pastor Alec Rowlands, senior pastor of Westgate Chapel in Edmonds, WA. He was guest speaker at Brooklyn Tabernacle on Sunday. Message starts at about 54.29 into the service. The topic was Wide Open Spacious Life.