I woke Friday of last week with an incredible sense of heaviness that rode me like a race horse at the Kentucky Derby. It seemed this feeling had been chasing me for several days prior and appeared to have finally caught up. One of the tools I utilize to combat life’s issues is the process of daily devotion and Morning Prayer, save any unfortunate incidents to prevent the activity.

Ironically, Friday’s devotional by Charles R. Swindoll came from Isaiah 29:14 and was entitled “Sacred Serendipity.” The term, serendipity, is defined by Mr. Swindoll as “the dip of the serene into the common responsibilities of life.” He further notes that serendipity occurs when something beautiful breaks into the monotonous and the mundane.

In other words, when it appears life has done little more than continuously dispense one obstacle after another; that simply means God is often working to prepare us for something remarkable. I realized the significance of Isaiah 55:8 (KJV) which states “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” Because we cannot see beyond the moment in which we’re currently engrossed or envision what tomorrow holds, it’s not feasibly possible for us to look ahead and view life in another ten or fifteen years. Let alone understand how something that seems detrimental or adverse can ultimately work out for our good.

Of course, one can plan and prepare for anticipated developments or desired achievements such as obtaining a college education, embarking on a career, or entering marriage with the intent to start a family but nobody ever fully understands what tomorrow holds. There have been many people who’ve begun pursuit of a secondary education, set out on a career path and even gotten married to the love of their life. As is often the case, unfortunate circumstances have a way of happening and serve to drastically alter the course set for one’s future. It’s remarkable at the numbers of students who begin college each year only to never see their dreams of graduating realized. Many employers are faced with the daunting task of lay-offs and an ever-increasing number of marriages end in divorce. In short, life happens but one only has to turn the situation over to the Lord for comfort, understanding, or clarity of reason.

Recently, I encountered a gentleman who reported having lost his job of twelve years which left him wondering what would become of all he’d been able to accomplish. Reportedly, just two weeks before being “relieved” of his position “Josh” (for the sake of reference) disclosed having petitioned the Lord for a promotion. He admitted to being somewhat irritated at the Lord for delivering the total opposite result of his prayer request.

Because “Josh” could only see in the moment, he didn’t realize the opportunity that would become available just four days after being dismissed from his job. As the Lord had scripted, he happened to encounter a person in need of someone with specific skills which ultimately resulted with “Josh” starting his own company.

People often pray to the Lord with expectation of having their desires satisfied but approach the thrown of grace yielding pre-conceived notions as to how the blessings will be delivered. The issue with that lies in the mere fact that we’re not designed to “think” like Him. Our thought process is finite and limited whereas the Lord already sees far beyond any human capacity to reason. Answers we seek are temporal, at best, and will often only present a situation that has to be revisited at some point in the relatively near future. However, when the Lord presents a solution it is designed to resolve any current concerns as well as facilitates an outcome that leads to a demonstratively conclusive end. In the words of a former pastor/friend, “When the Lord says it, that settles it.”

It strikes me as rather humorous at the number of times I consider having volunteered to “help” God when things didn’t appear to be moving along quite fast enough or weren’t going the way I felt they should. Romans 11:34 (KJV) asks, “For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor?”

Given the nature of everything over which humans have been placed in charge, I would shutter to consider the outcome of all creation if some mere mortal was allowed the privilege of “assisting” God. Undoubtedly, the man would have wanted things done his way. He’d have made himself supreme ruler, the woman would have been created immediately and assigned as a servant as opposed to his “help mate.” It only takes a moment to realize the inevitable detriment when one considers the fact that everything in which God’s prize creation gets involved has gotten screwed up. I could be wrong but it’s just something to consider.