God Does the Unexpected
When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan: Finding God in the Unexpected
We've all been there. You map out your life with careful precision—career goals, relationship timelines, financial milestones. You present your plans to God, perhaps even asking for His blessing, and then wait for Him to rubber-stamp your perfectly crafted blueprint.
And then life happens.
The job falls through. The relationship ends. The diagnosis arrives. The bill you didn't expect lands in your mailbox. Suddenly, the picture-perfect future you sketched in your mind doesn't just look imperfect—it looks completely unrecognizable.
In those moments, we find ourselves asking the hard questions: "God, did You forget something? Are You even paying attention? This wasn't the plan!"
The Christmas Story: God's Blueprint for the Unexpected
The Christmas narrative gives us one of the most profound examples of God working in ways no one expected. Consider Joseph's position for a moment. He's engaged to Mary, planning their future together, when suddenly she tells him she's pregnant—and not by him, but by the Holy Spirit.
Put yourself in Joseph's sandals. The woman you love, the one you trusted completely, is having a baby. And her explanation? That God did it.
Imagine Joseph pacing the floor that night, heart pounding, mind racing. What will my family think? What will the village say? How do I move forward from this? He lies awake, staring into the darkness. What happened to the future he pictured? The abandonment. The confusion. Where is God in this?
Yet little did Joseph know, God was closer than He'd ever been.
Matthew records that "all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')."
What Joseph thought was failure was actually the fulfillment of God's promise. What Joseph thought proved God's absence was actually proof that God was with him.
God does the unexpected to accomplish His purposes.
Immanuel: God With Us in the Mess
The name Immanuel carries profound weight. It doesn't mean "God above us" or "God around us" or "God once we get our lives together." It means God with us—right here, right now, in the unexpected.
Jesus didn't arrive in a palace. He wasn't born to wealthy, powerful parents. He didn't come through a perfect, pristine story. The genealogy Matthew records is filled with scandal, sexual sin, murder, and dysfunction. Yet God chose to work through this messy, unlikely family tree.
This reveals something crucial about God's character: He doesn't run from messy. He doesn't abandon people who are confused or frustrated with His plans. He doesn't let our chaos stop Him from accomplishing what He wants to accomplish.
Instead, God steps right into the midst of our brokenness, our surprise, our unexpected circumstances—right where we are.
A Modern Story of Provision
Consider a contemporary example that mirrors this biblical truth. A man felt called to ministry and began making plans—enrolling in seminary, preparing for a new chapter. He and his wife prayed, planned, and committed to this path. Then, the very day after completing a spiritual formation course, he was fired from his job.
From $120,000 a year to zero income. Overnight.
In that moment, sitting on the floor of his home, he had a choice: curse God for ruining his plans or trust God in the unexpected. He chose trust.
Within two weeks, his wife was hired at a Christian school. He took a job as a plumber—a dramatic pay cut, but one that brought unexpected joy. Despite making less than half their previous income, they never lacked. They still took their family vacation. Their children never noticed anything was wrong because their needs were always met.
Then came another unexpected challenge: their four-year-old daughter needed an expensive MRI for a serious medical condition. The quoted cost: $2,200 upfront. But their daughter behaved so remarkably well that sedation wasn't needed, and the final bill came to just $480.
When the man needed to quit the plumbing job to honor his family's needs, God provided again—this time with a position that allowed him to be present with his wife and children.
At every turn, when the plan fell apart, God's presence showed up.
Shifting Our Perspective
The question isn't whether God is present in the unexpected—He is. His name guarantees it. The question is: Are we going to recognize that He's there?
So often we have spiritual blinders on. We're caught up in distraction, worry, anxiety, and fear. We fail to recognize that God has been there the whole time and will continue to be there.
The Christmas story invites us to live differently. It invites us to see that when our plan falls apart, God's presence shows up.
The unexpected isn't a detour. It's not something to slam on the brakes for and get frustrated about. It's an invitation to step into what God is doing. It's an invitation to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus. It's an invitation to trust Him more.
The Apprentice's Posture
An apprentice doesn't run ahead of the master. An apprentice follows, learns, and trusts the master's wisdom and timing. When something doesn't go according to our plans, instead of asking "Where are you, God?" we can learn to ask, "What are you doing here, God?"
Because God is doing exactly what He's always done—showing up in the unexpected. From the first page of Genesis to the last page of Revelation, this is how He operates.
Trading Plans for Presence
Here's the invitation: Trade your plan for His presence.
Lay down the control and pick up trust. Surrender the unexpected to the God who is already working in it. Because He will shape everything—every disappointment, every closed door, every surprise—for His glory and for our good.
Maybe you need to release a relationship, a future plan, a grief you can't fix, a timeline you can't control, or a prayer that hasn't been answered yet. Whatever it is, bring it to the God who does the unexpected.
The unexpected isn't an obstacle—it's an invitation to see God's work in your life in real time.
Because Immanuel means God doesn't wait for perfect circumstances. He shows up right in the middle of your mess, your confusion, your disappointment, and your unexpected circumstances.
He is with you. Right now. In this moment.
And that changes everything.
We've all been there. You map out your life with careful precision—career goals, relationship timelines, financial milestones. You present your plans to God, perhaps even asking for His blessing, and then wait for Him to rubber-stamp your perfectly crafted blueprint.
And then life happens.
The job falls through. The relationship ends. The diagnosis arrives. The bill you didn't expect lands in your mailbox. Suddenly, the picture-perfect future you sketched in your mind doesn't just look imperfect—it looks completely unrecognizable.
In those moments, we find ourselves asking the hard questions: "God, did You forget something? Are You even paying attention? This wasn't the plan!"
The Christmas Story: God's Blueprint for the Unexpected
The Christmas narrative gives us one of the most profound examples of God working in ways no one expected. Consider Joseph's position for a moment. He's engaged to Mary, planning their future together, when suddenly she tells him she's pregnant—and not by him, but by the Holy Spirit.
Put yourself in Joseph's sandals. The woman you love, the one you trusted completely, is having a baby. And her explanation? That God did it.
Imagine Joseph pacing the floor that night, heart pounding, mind racing. What will my family think? What will the village say? How do I move forward from this? He lies awake, staring into the darkness. What happened to the future he pictured? The abandonment. The confusion. Where is God in this?
Yet little did Joseph know, God was closer than He'd ever been.
Matthew records that "all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')."
What Joseph thought was failure was actually the fulfillment of God's promise. What Joseph thought proved God's absence was actually proof that God was with him.
God does the unexpected to accomplish His purposes.
Immanuel: God With Us in the Mess
The name Immanuel carries profound weight. It doesn't mean "God above us" or "God around us" or "God once we get our lives together." It means God with us—right here, right now, in the unexpected.
Jesus didn't arrive in a palace. He wasn't born to wealthy, powerful parents. He didn't come through a perfect, pristine story. The genealogy Matthew records is filled with scandal, sexual sin, murder, and dysfunction. Yet God chose to work through this messy, unlikely family tree.
This reveals something crucial about God's character: He doesn't run from messy. He doesn't abandon people who are confused or frustrated with His plans. He doesn't let our chaos stop Him from accomplishing what He wants to accomplish.
Instead, God steps right into the midst of our brokenness, our surprise, our unexpected circumstances—right where we are.
A Modern Story of Provision
Consider a contemporary example that mirrors this biblical truth. A man felt called to ministry and began making plans—enrolling in seminary, preparing for a new chapter. He and his wife prayed, planned, and committed to this path. Then, the very day after completing a spiritual formation course, he was fired from his job.
From $120,000 a year to zero income. Overnight.
In that moment, sitting on the floor of his home, he had a choice: curse God for ruining his plans or trust God in the unexpected. He chose trust.
Within two weeks, his wife was hired at a Christian school. He took a job as a plumber—a dramatic pay cut, but one that brought unexpected joy. Despite making less than half their previous income, they never lacked. They still took their family vacation. Their children never noticed anything was wrong because their needs were always met.
Then came another unexpected challenge: their four-year-old daughter needed an expensive MRI for a serious medical condition. The quoted cost: $2,200 upfront. But their daughter behaved so remarkably well that sedation wasn't needed, and the final bill came to just $480.
When the man needed to quit the plumbing job to honor his family's needs, God provided again—this time with a position that allowed him to be present with his wife and children.
At every turn, when the plan fell apart, God's presence showed up.
Shifting Our Perspective
The question isn't whether God is present in the unexpected—He is. His name guarantees it. The question is: Are we going to recognize that He's there?
So often we have spiritual blinders on. We're caught up in distraction, worry, anxiety, and fear. We fail to recognize that God has been there the whole time and will continue to be there.
The Christmas story invites us to live differently. It invites us to see that when our plan falls apart, God's presence shows up.
The unexpected isn't a detour. It's not something to slam on the brakes for and get frustrated about. It's an invitation to step into what God is doing. It's an invitation to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus. It's an invitation to trust Him more.
The Apprentice's Posture
An apprentice doesn't run ahead of the master. An apprentice follows, learns, and trusts the master's wisdom and timing. When something doesn't go according to our plans, instead of asking "Where are you, God?" we can learn to ask, "What are you doing here, God?"
Because God is doing exactly what He's always done—showing up in the unexpected. From the first page of Genesis to the last page of Revelation, this is how He operates.
Trading Plans for Presence
Here's the invitation: Trade your plan for His presence.
Lay down the control and pick up trust. Surrender the unexpected to the God who is already working in it. Because He will shape everything—every disappointment, every closed door, every surprise—for His glory and for our good.
Maybe you need to release a relationship, a future plan, a grief you can't fix, a timeline you can't control, or a prayer that hasn't been answered yet. Whatever it is, bring it to the God who does the unexpected.
The unexpected isn't an obstacle—it's an invitation to see God's work in your life in real time.
Because Immanuel means God doesn't wait for perfect circumstances. He shows up right in the middle of your mess, your confusion, your disappointment, and your unexpected circumstances.
He is with you. Right now. In this moment.
And that changes everything.
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