Any of you who are his people may go to
Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who
lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! Ezra
1:3 NLT
She moved from
behind the building … graceful … beautiful … a sight to behold.
My wife and I
and another couple headed for Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina, hoping to
catch a glimpse of elk, which the park service had reintroduced into the
Smokies in 2001.
After parking,
the first site we visited was the old schoolhouse. Since the door was locked, I
moseyed around the side, hoping to get a peek in one of the windows. That’s
when my wife hollered, “Woooah.”
As I turned to
her and then back to what she hollered at, I saw her. A large mother elk
strolling from behind the schoolhouse. She stood, munched on greenery, and let
us take as many pictures as we wanted. We walked in her personal space, but she
didn’t seem to mind.
After our
photo session, we tried to move ahead of her to visit the other sites, but she
kept just ahead of us. One motorist warned us that we were in the danger zone,
as if we didn’t know. Momma elk finally lumbered into the woods, and we moved
on. On our walk back to our vehicle, we saw her two-year-old calf grazing
beside the road. She, too, paused for a photo op and then joined her mom in the
wooded area.
The captive
Jews were surprised, too. They had lingered in Babylonian captivity for seventy
years—until King Cyrus took over. A kind-hearted king, he let those who wanted
return to their homeland to rebuild the Jerusalem temple.
God often sends little (or
big) surprises along our life’s way. Momma elk was one, and seeing her brought
us joy. God desires to bring good things into our lives. His surprises often
require change. The Jews who returned to Jerusalem had to give up their
comfortable lifestyle in Babylon for hard work and persecution in Jerusalem.
But those who took the challenge eventually found better days ahead. God’s
surprises always do that. Even though the surprise is sometimes unpleasant, the
end result will be pleasant.
When God sends surprises,
they present a choice. Knowing we were in the danger zone, we could have turned
away and not enjoyed the elk’s presence. We chose to stay. Many Jews chose
Jerusalem over exotic Babylon.
Learn to enjoy the little—and
big—surprises God sends your way. They are always for your good.
Prayer: Father, thank You for
the surprises You bring into our lives. May we enjoy them as a sample of Your
abiding presence with us.
Tweetable: How do you react to God's surprises?
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