Read Isaiah 29:17–21
I love the word serendipity! It’s not only fun to say, but it also describes things that occur wondrously and unexpectedly. Who doesn’t need more of that in life?
Though we often think of discipline and hard work as important characteristics to mark our lives as Christians, healthy levels of spontaneity and surprise should also appear in the list of traits.
The unexpected gift, the spur of the moment visit from a friend, the perfectly timed expression of gratitude...handwritten, in ink, and delivered via snail mail! All things that represent serendipitous moments we never forget.
Our faith should have elements of serendipity too. Now into my eighth decade of life, having known the Saviour for most of those years, I still find Him to be surprising and delightful in His dealings with me, my family, and the ministry in which I serve. I think such things delight Him.
Here are Isaiah’s thoughts:
Soon—and it will not be very long—the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness. The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the LORD. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear, and those who plot evil will be killed. Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear. A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent. (Isaiah 29:17–21)
How like God to put serendipity into the barrenness of our lives and fresh joy into our gloom. Are you expecting it? Will you look for Him to do that today? Ask the Lord for a sign of His goodness then anticipate the serendipity.1
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.
The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.
1. Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way: Wise Words for Busy People (Nashville: J. Countryman, 2001), 118.
