Surprise!

How might you surprise people with God’s abundance today?

Genesis 45:21- 23

Joseph gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. To each one of them he gave a set of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments. To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey.

Have you ever been surprised by abundance? Have you ever gotten to surprise others with the unexpected - with abundance, with grace, with goodness? I deeply enjoyed the phrase, “ten donkeys loaded with the good things…”

I think about this somewhat frequently when parenting my teenagers and choosing to investigate family patterns and treat them differently. Sometimes the things they do or say absolutely astound me in their boldness and lack of shame. I know how hard I would have been punished for the same behaviors, and I find so much healing in getting to watch them grow up unafraid of me, my anger, and punishment.

I wonder if there is an opportunity to surprise people by who God is. The Bible tells of a God of abundance, of opportunity, of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of lifting up the powerless. How might you need to be reminded and surprised by who God is? Where are you needing the good things?

How might you surprise people with God’s abundance today? This week? This year?

— Theo Isoz