UNNATURAL EXPECTATIONS -- 1 Samuel 2:4-5 NIV

I don't know about you, but I have yet to see God do anything the way I thought He would before He did it. Who would have thought God would chose a barren old woman to be the mother of one of the earliest and greatest prophets? But God chose Hannah. Who would have thought God would pick the youngest son of an obscure Jew, the one no one even thought to bring before Samuel, to be the King? But God chose David. Who would have thought God would send His only son to be the child of a carpenter and his young bride, to be born in a stable, and to die an agonizing death on the cross to save us from our sins? But God sent Jesus. Who would have thought God would choose a loud-mouthed, pushy, spineless fisherman who spent more time with his foot in his mouth than out to be one of His disciples and one of the great leaders of the early church? But God chose Peter. Who would have thought that God would choose a man whose sole mission in life was to destroy Christians and Christianity to not only be an Apostle and to take the gospel to the Gentiles, but to also write nearly half of our New Testament? But God chose Paul.

When you think about it, God is continually going against what is “natural,” what is “logical,” what you and I would do in virtually every circumstance. But no matter how illogical, no matter how unnatural, no matter what you and I think should be done – God's way always turns out to be so much better than our way. So illogical… so supernatural… yet so much better. I don't know how many times I've prayed for God to solve a problem in a specific way, only to have Him solve the problem – in a completely different and marvelous way that I could never have imagined!

Are you in the middle of an insurmountable problem in your life? Does the situation seem to be impossible? Is there no logical answer? Pray honestly and specifically about the problem. Talk to the Lord like you would your earthly father or mother. Pour out your soul to him. And lay the problem in His hands. Ask Him to solve it in His way, no matter what that is. And let your expectations be unnatural.

from: Take a Minute with Bonnie Ricks, Dogwood Ministries, Inc.