God Uses the Unexpected

God is amazing in so many ways, but what I want to focus on now is His amazing ability to minister and bring comfort to broken people in ways we would never expect. Let me tell you about one of the many ways in which God comforted me through the most difficult time of my life. In October of 2015, my sister died in a very sudden and tragic way. It shook my family to the core, and to be perfectly honest, we are still quite shaken. But, God brings comfort.

Through this time, He has brought me comfort in a variety of ways, some of which were expected: the love of my wife, my family, key Scriptures that remind me of who I am and who He is. But, He also brought comfort in unexpected ways. One of those unexpected comforts came to me in the song, “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle. It surprised me, to be honest. Here’s this upbeat pop song with a catchy melody, and feel good vibe. The best way I can describe it is that it is just a really “fun sounding” song. And, while it’s the perfect kind of song for radio, it’s not the type of song I would normally expect God to use to bring profound truth and comfort, but that’s how amazing He is. He used the catchiness of the song to grab my attention, then He opened up my heart to its lyrics:

Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet

I had dreams to have backyard barbecues with my sister and her family. I had dreams that my daughter would know her aunt, and would have cousins to have sleep-overs with. Now, I’m laying those, now unattainable dreams, down at God’s feet. The song goes on and says:

I try to win this war, I confess
My hands are weary, I need Your rest
Mighty warrior, King of the fight
No matter what I face, You’re by my side

“No matter what I face, You’re by my side.” These are more than just cleverly written lyrics that follow a well-structured pattern of rhythm and rhyme, these words are truth: truth about God, the Mighty Warrior who can and will be by my side, no matter what I’m facing. The song goes on to describe how our reaction should be because of these truths:

When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through
When you don’t give the answers as I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You

I needed to hear that, and God knew it. You see, in my grief, I was looking for clarity; I wanted to understand why. But, God doesn’t always give us clarity. Sometimes, He just wants us to trust Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Sometimes, God will reveal the answers to why things happen, and sometimes He doesn’t. In either case, He is worthy of our trust.

With all the truth presented in this song, it’s the bridge that wraps everything together:

You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood

This catchy, pop song may not be the type of song I would normally expect God to use to bring me comfort and remind me of how He is beyond worthy, but that’s just how amazing He is. He used this song to remind me of very important, capital “T” Truth. When I am weak, He is my strength and comfort. When I feel the ground crumbling beneath my feet, He is my firm foundation, and the rock on which I stand. And, when I don’t understand why things like this could happen in life, He reminds me that His ways are higher, His plans are good, and He will walk through it with me.

I have two questions for you. First, are you open to hearing God’s truth from unexpected sources, or have you resolved to only listen to Him when He speaks in ways you prefer? God is the creator of the universe and everything in it; He is able to speak in infinite ways—listen. Second, are you letting a lack of clarity and/or understanding keep you from trusting God? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” God doesn’t always give us clarity, but faith is knowing that, even when I don’t understand why, I know He is not only capable of immeasurably more than I can even imagine, but that He is always faithful.

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