This is going to be an unexpectedly great day, friend!

Suddenly, my vision went black. I just managed to sit down on the bench before I fainted and then fell to the ground. This was definitely not how I had imagined my first day in the south of France! I had come here so I could work on my next book in peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I ended up suffering a concussion due to the fall, and the doctor prescribed complete rest, no working on my book, and no more movement than absolutely necessary. In response to this news, my first thoughts were: "What am I even doing here? I may as well have just stayed home if all I'm allowed to do is lie in bed!"

Thoughts like these are fairly typical, humanly speaking, and tend to come to our minds automatically. What often isn't so automatic, friend, is the belief that even the tough and unexpected situations can be for our own good!  

God exhorts us to have faith that He is in control, even though we can't see the outcome. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17, NKJV) It doesn't say, "Faith comes by seeing." It clearly says, "Faith comes by hearing"! 

At that time, I couldn't see what good could come from my concussion and the resulting wasted week. But I had the choice to either trust my own thoughts or hear God's Word—and His Word promises me that He has good in store for me! (see Jeremiah 29:11)  

I had to decide that this was the perfect time to hear before I would see what good this unexpected time would bring forth.

friend, perhaps you're currently in an unexpected situation as well. If so, then you, too, have the choice whether to give your anxious thoughts free reign or to listen to what God desires to tell you.

Let's choose to expect the good that's in store when the unexpected makes us wait. Yes, today can unexpectedly become an amazing day! :-)

You are a miracle!