Expecting The Unexpected

On any given commercial airplane flight, one never knows when, first the flight attendant and then the captain announces over the intercom that the seatbelt signs have been turned on because they were “expecting unexpected turbulence.” There’s nothing like a good oxymoron to entertain excitable airplane passengers. It may not be a bad idea to every now and then contemplate the idea of expecting unexpected turbulence along our life’s journey. I’ve lived long enough to experience turbulence not only on a personal basis, but have had my life unexpectedly agitated a few times by worldly activities I never imagined coming my way. I’m reminded every year of November 22, 1963 and the assassination of President John F. Kenedy. I was thirteen and it was the last day of school before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Our English teacher, an ex-Marine who still commanded attention, was absent from the room at the beginning of class. The room, full of excited adolescents in the last class of the day, buzzed with rumors of the shooting of a governor or prince or king of somewhere, but nobody really knew any details. Entered our teacher, and I’ll never forget the sadness on his face as he informed the class that our President was dead. Then he sat at his desk and cried. Nation-wide the Thanksgiving of 1963 was the most somber time I have ever experienced, including 9-11. That’s when I learned to “expect the unexpected” in life and depend on the pilot to get me through it.

[Psalm 46] “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. ...He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us...” The Christian life is a journey - a long journey, with quite a bit of turbulence. And the turbulence we experience often comes at unexpected times. And, while we might not be able to predict when tur­bulent times will come, we can and should expect them. In preparation for the turbulence in life, the Christian needs to buckle up. In other words, we need to utilize the safety mea­sures we have at our disposal, understanding that God is ever present in our lives providing a strong belt of peace of mind that comes from knowing for certain that we’re protected from any calamity that might come our way. Almost 2,000 years ago Jesus said we are wise if we build on a firm foundation, the solid rock. Matthew 7:24-27 states “...everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had it’s foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell with a great crash.” My faith, my spiritual house, is built upon the rock foundation that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:15-18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11). This journey that we’re on will be long, exhausting, and full of turbulence, but getting to our destination is worth the trip. “...We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God...” (Acts 14:22). Friend, lets follow and obey Jesus Christ for, “...the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Don’t let worldly turbulence destroy your soul. Buckle-Up and Live!