If TV and movies have taught us anything, it’s that the person you seek — whether it’s a fiendish murderer or some luckless gal’s soulmate — is always the one you least suspect. That good-looking, solid, nice-as-pie guy? He will be discarded in favor of the man our heroine claimed to hate and has bickered with for a full 90 minutes. The FBI agent? Actually a KGB spy in disguise. It’s gotten to be such a common ruse, the astute watcher can guess the outcome based on the premise that whoever-dunnit will be the person who appears most ridiculously unlikely to have done so.
We apply this principle to pop culture, but seldom examine its application to our own lives. When we make that big sale, land that elusive account, garner the attention of a significant other, whom do we look to for praise? Ourselves, of course. When we bungle the big sale, lose the account, get dumped or overlooked, whom do we look to for the assignation of blame? Probably someone else. Maybe ourselves. But what if, in every instance, we are wrong? What if, all along, it really is the one we suspect the least — God?
Sure, we sometimes remember to thank God for the good things in our lives. It is easier to see God as the engenderer of positive things, less easy to see God’s presence in things like war, death or tragedy. But The One You Least Suspect has a hand in all things, all ways. You may not see it, but it’s there.
Someone once described understanding God’s movement in the world to the following: A single page of a huge manuscript is torn from a book. The page is battered by wind and weather until it consists of a few legible sentences. Someone finds this scrap of paper, and based on it, claims to understand what the entire novel was about. It is ridiculous on the face of it. So, too, is it ridiculous for us to claim to understand how God works in our lives…or to discount God’s existence based on a similar, crabbed view.
You are a part of God’s divine providence. God has a plan for you and for the world. Perhaps it is time to recognize The One You Least Suspect for having outwitted us all — though I suspect none of us will understand this fully until our deaths. In the meantime, give God more credit, even for those things that seem hopeless or wrong. God has stronger eyesight than we do. God sees the big picture. God will surprise you, whether you expect it or not.
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March 12, 2015 at 6:34 pm
calensariel
SUCH a good post! I’m sending my son over to read it. His wife of eight years asked him for a divorce on Tuesday. She says she knows what she wants out of life and it’s just HERSELF. They’ve been separated for five years and all this time he’s been upright and faithful to her in the hopes they could work things out. He is quite devastated. He needs to hear what your post says. Thanks for putting it up there.
March 12, 2015 at 8:29 pm
loristrawn
Oh, Calen, I’m so sorry to hear this. Your son is a good person. He is in my prayers. May God send him comfort and a happy, holy new direction.
March 12, 2015 at 8:32 pm
calensariel
Thanks so much. I’ll pass your wishes along to him. He’s only recently started coming back to church. I figure God was preparing him for this to happen.
March 13, 2015 at 4:02 am
SueBE
Calen,
What awful news for your poor son. Some things simply need to be endured. We may never understand. This doesn’t mean he is not loved or worthy or made in HIS image. Do give your son a hug from all of us and let him know that we are lifting him up.
Lori,
And thank you! Sometimes it is easier to see God’s hand at work than at other times. But true understanding? Never.
March 15, 2015 at 1:51 am
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