Out of the Blue



Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-5)

There are many curve balls that come at us out of the blue. “Didn’t see that coming” is a phrase we hear today when we are surprised by some unforeseen event. Some of these are good surprises, but sometimes we suffer setbacks and pain from evil that we were unprepared for and in those times, we must hold onto our faith in God more strongly than ever. Satan is trying to destroy our relationship with the Father.

‘… but deliver us from evil’ is the second half of a sentence which begins with ‘Lead us not into temptation’ in the Lord’s prayer. Though the two parts seem similar, the last part is a very different request of God.

When things are going along smoothly and suddenly our rental house is put up for sale, or we have a great boss who quits and is replaced with a sociopath, our world can go spinning off to a dark place of worry and fear. We may be driving along and suddenly hit a boy on a skateboard who is texting unaware. These are unexpected evils that can shake our faith and knock us back on our heels. These are the times we cry out “Why God? We were doing so well.”

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

Instead of falling backwards, we need to fall on our knees before God and ask Him to deliver us from these trials. The Lord’s prayer does not say that evil will not come to us. In the prayer we are asking for deliverance from the evil and the trials that happen to everyone. God does not bring evil to us and He does not tempt us or try to cause us to fail. We know the devil is at work in these situations to cause us to lose our faith. We must build up our armor of God by prayer and thanksgiving. He will deliver us!

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)

Our trust that God will bring about good from these instances must remain steadfast. Hope is one of the greatest benefits of knowing Him. We have hope that the world does not have.  Lean on God. When trials come out of the blue, it may seem as though He is nowhere to be found, but He has not abandoned us. He will deliver us!

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. (Psalm 107:6)

The funny thing about trials, temptations, or any bad thing that happens suddenly, is that good stuff, good conditions, can come just as suddenly. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, whether good or bad but we do know that God has gotten us through trials before and He will again. Trust God. He will deliver us!

And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15)

Most of us can look back at the bad times in our lives and see the good that came after. Hope, faith and trust in God during trials, surprises that knocked us down, helps us get up and remain strong. It only takes a moment for things to turn around and become good instead of bad. Never give up.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Bad things will happen suddenly. They will come as an ‘out of the blue’ phone call or visit, an accident, an illness, a death. But God is still our Lord and He is working in this evil world to bring about His purpose through us and through others.

We love the Lord and we are called according to His purpose. His purpose if for all to come to know Him as their Lord and Savior. The trials and the evil that Satan uses to draw us away will be used by God to draw us closer. Our faith during these times and the good that comes from it will reveal to others the glory of God.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

Do good, pray that He will deliver us from evil and that He will strengthen us when evil comes. We will have bad things happen but seemingly out of the blue, God will deliver us! Praise be to God.

Prayer: Our Heavenly Father make us ready to accept the ‘out of the blue’ evil that often hits us. Help us stand strong in our faith and wait expectantly to see what you are going to do in our situation. We are scared, we are weak, we are tired but with you by our side we can go on. Strengthen us, take away our fear and work as quickly as is right in your sight Lord to bring us through these evil times. Amen



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