“This is going to be so cool,” I told my brother Roger as we parked the car just down the street from our house. It was the end of February 1967.
Through snail mail, Roger and I had conspired to meet up in Okinawa so we could fly home together to surprise our parents, who did not know when we were coming home. Those departing Vietnam traveled to Okinawa to be issued fresh uniforms and an opportunity to decompress after our initial 13-month tour of duty.
When we arrived home, Roger and I walked up the steps of the porch and rang the doorbell. We could hear some movement inside, and as the door began to open, we both yelled, “SURPRISE!” A very startled lady responded by saying, “Who are you?” We responded by saying, “Who are you?”
At some point before our arrival, our parents had moved, and the current occupants had no idea where they were. I like to think that there was a letter from my parents somewhere in a Post Office in Vietnam informing us of their move.
Surprises can be good, and then maybe not so good.
Surprise! You just got a promotion at work!
Surprise! We’re laying you off!
Surprise, Mom and Dad! I have a new boyfriend!
Surprise! It’s a baby girl!
Surprise! We ran a background check!
Life throws us for a loop on more than one occasion, and at times it can be overwhelming.
Do you know who never gets caught by surprise? God! Our Creator is omniscient — He knows everything: past, present, and future. Scripture affirms this.
Isaiah the prophet provides us significant insights into God’s omniscience:
- “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He” (Isaiah 41:4, ESV).
- “Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, ‘He is right’? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard Your words” (Isaiah 41:26).
- “Who is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before Me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen” (Isaiah 44:7).
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul reaffirms this concept as he tells us that God has laid out our life’s path before the foundation of the world.
- “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
So, the next time life lays a “surprise” on you, don’t panic. Just remember that not only did God see it coming, but He has already charted a path for you through it. You would be wise to check in with Him and see what He has in store.
What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!
