This past Sunday, I opened the sermon by telling the worst joke in the history of jokes. To tell you how bad it was, the punch line was: “Hugh and only Hugh can prevent florist friars.”
The funny thing was watching members of the congregation react as they realized just how bad the joke was. I thought Steve was going to jump out of the balcony. But what made the joke work was that it was the very last thing they expected.
Have you ever noticed life seems to be full of those last thing we expected events? No matter how hard we obsessive type A squared personalities try to plan for every contingency, life never works out exactly the way we intended.
Pink slips, car wrecks, traffic jams, sprained ankles, bad cell service, power outages, thoughtless neighbors, pink eye, poison ivy, mosquito bites, cancer, plunging stock markets, heart attacks, overly demanding bosses, crashing hard drives, lost television remote controls, and Alzheimer’s are just a few of the many ways life can throw a curve ball. It’s enough to make you want to throw in the towel.
The good news is there is One who can manage all the chaos and give us stability in the midst of the storms of life. Jesus would tell us it’s building a house on a rock foundation instead of sand. There is a way to make this happen.
If you want a life where you are able to truly weather the unexpected storms, give it to God. Let God do the heavy lifting. He will never let you down.
That’s what King Solomon, the wisest of all people, meant by saying, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
So as you begin a new day, know you may encounter the last thing you ever expected. Don’t panic or give up hope. Give it to the One who is big enough to handle it. If God’s shoulders are big enough to carry the universe, surely he can carry your burden. All you have to do is trust him.
Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, in those moments when I am faced with the unexpected, give me the wisdom to turn it over to you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Whatever it is, God can handle it.
Also, only a genius could have figured out a way to tell such a bad joke in the sermon and make it work – just sayin’.
I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins
Daily Devotionals by Dr. Tom Robbins 