Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (Isa. 35:6)
I’m a sucker for twenty- or thirty-second videos on social media that end with a twist or something so unexpected it leaves me shaking my head. “What did I just see? How in the world did that just happen?” Like smartphone videos of pigs that surf five-foot swells: pigs and surfboards don’t pair together. Or consider the occasional large event that features an artist who splashes paint or chalk on a gigantic piece of canvas, accompanied by heart-thumping music. A beautiful piece of abstract art emerges. Then just as the artist finishes, he flips the frame upside down and attendees ooh and ahh because a magnificent image of the Statue of Liberty is unexpectedly revealed. A collective sense of “Wow! None of us saw that coming” washes over the crowd.
A time is coming when the redeemed will rave at what God has done: “Oh my goodness! We didn’t see that coming.” Poetic word pictures are drawn that reveal unexpected pairings: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, the mute shout, the wilderness surges, the desert gushes, and the dunes pool. What was entrenched is loosened. What was bound is liberated. What was trashed is transformed.
One of the beautiful manifestations of grace is the action of God that takes our breath away, and we are stunned with jaw-dropping awe: “We didn’t see that coming!”
Stay alert for when God flips the predictable on its head.
Ed Rotz works with PastorServe, a coaching network to strengthen pastors. He served The Wesleyan Church for forty-five years as a pastor and district superintendent.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
