God’s Surprises

By Sheila Jacobs

 Disappointments

I don’t always enjoy Christmas, if I’m being truthful. But I do enjoy the New Year. I like sitting with God and laying out all my hopes and dreams for the following twelve months, as well as reviewing with gratitude the previous year. So much to be grateful for! And as for the disappointments, where things haven’t panned out exactly as I might have hoped or wanted… well, I can them over to Jesus too, knowing he understands.

Can I trust Jesus with those disappointments? Or do I get to the place of blaming him? That of course can lead on to doubt, a loss of faith, ultimately perhaps even walking away from God and his people. If I believe God has let me down, then it might stop me wanting to pray, or worship, or go to church. Sometimes we can slide out of following him because life just gets in the way. But at times, we can turn our backs and walk off to lick the wounds that we feel that God doesn’t care about: ‘I prayed, Jesus, but that thing I wanted didn’t happen.’ ‘I prayed, God, but I feel so discouraged.’ ‘I prayed, Jesus, but I’m beginning to doubt you and I need some time away.’ Or: ‘I prayed, you didn’t answer. You just don’t care.’

Joy!

One of the things I can be grateful for as I review the last year, is the summer. The summer of 2024 was one of the best, if not the best, of my adult life. One of my friends has a couple of eBikes and asked me if I’d like to go cycling. I hadn’t been on a bike since I was twelve, so that was a long, long time ago! It turned into an amazing summer where for about three months, we travelled far and wide across the Essex countryside. I fell off a lot. My friend told me it was like training a puppy. I had bumps and cuts and bruises. But I had the time of my life.

Because I had Meniere’s disease when I was younger, my balance isn’t quite as it should be. But it seemed to get better the more I cycled. In the end, as we finished our three-month adventure, it was beginning to be autumn, and I was able to see the benefits – ploughing on, persisting when I could have given up, taking a risk at times – had resulted in more confidence, a wonderful time, and the biggest grins in the photos taken by my friend and posted to our house group. People told me they’d never seen me looking so happy. How grateful I am to God for this unexpected gift of a time of joy!

One of the places we visited wasn’t too far from my home. Across some stubble fields, and along some country lanes, was a wood. It isn’t somewhere I would have gone alone, but there was the most relaxed atmosphere in that place. It was serene and peaceful, undisturbed. It was also a place where we saw deer, and on one occasion we heard a strange sound, like sticks being knocked together. It was two stags, rutting! We watched them for a while before they ran off. How amazing and unexpected to be able to see that.

Conclusion

Sometimes, in the midst of our troubles, we can forget to be grateful for the blessings that we do have, as we focus on the sadness and broken dreams. For me, the summer of 2024 was the most blessed time, although there are many other things, events and especially people I can pinpoint and say thank you for.

The wood was one of the most beautiful places I visited in my ‘happy summer’. I didn’t realise such a lovely place was just a couple of miles or so away from home. It made me think. Happy times might be just around the corner – literally! So, whatever disappointments and discouragement we may have experienced, we need to try to place them into the hands of God and thank him for the unexpected beauty and mercy that he may show us even today.

When Jesus encouraged us to pray to ‘Our Father’, he talked about our daily bread (Matthew 6:11) – our daily needs. Thanking God every morning, while laying out before him our need for his provision, then reviewing what he has done for us as we settle down in the evening, can be a helpful aid to remaining in his presence. God knows, he understands. Can we trust him when things don’t quite go to plan, or he doesn’t seem to answer, or the quietness of heaven gets us down?

At the turn of the year, why not bring before God all your disappointments, and leave them with him? Then turn to thoughts of gratitude, naming the good things that you have experienced and thanking God for them. After that, thank God for all the good things he may surprise you with in the new year. Don’t be afraid to tell him what you’re hoping for, but spend time asking him what his plans are, too. Listen! You never know what you might hear.

Sheila Jacobs is single, a writer, editor, retreat leader and mentor. She is an award-winning author of 20 books, including A Little Book of Rest: Walking Out of Anxiety and Fear. Her latest novel, Nun’s Drift (Malcolm Down Publishing, 2024), has just been published. For books and retreats see: www.sheila-jacobs.co.uk