Expecting the Unexpected

Expecting the unexpected describes how we feel when we ask God for things. We are never quite sure how He will respond.

When God does not do things the way we expect, it is natural for us to ask why. If we are silent, He still reads our thoughts, and He always responds. In this post we will discuss the following:

• Not expecting Jesus to do the unexpected
• Expecting The Familiar in Dreams
• Rain, An Unexpected Weapon
• When Spiritual Warfare Brings Unexpected Weather
• Prophetic Dream: A Battle in the Heavens
• Expecting the Unexpected in Deborah’s Prophetic Word
• Expecting Prophets to Mean What they Say
• Expecting the Unexpected Pleases God
• Why God Speaks in Parables

Not expecting Jesus to do the unexpected

In Matthew chapter 9, the learned leaders confronted Jesus because He did things differently from what they expected. First, the scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy. Then, the Pharisees became quite offended because Jesus ate with “sinners”, a practice that their customs did not allow. 

“Why is your Master eating with publicans and sinners?” they asked Jesus’ Disciples. Jesus responded to all their questions even though they were at odds with Him.

However, next, the followers of John (the Baptist) came to interrogate Jesus. They noticed Jesus was not following the expected rules.

This was quite an unusual answer to a straightforward question. After all, a bridegroom, sewing, and wine skins seem unrelated to fasting. But, parabolic language is not meant to be easily understood. I sense Jesus was saying:

Expecting The Familiar in Dreams

Our human nature feels more comfortable with the familiar over anything new. The religious resume their pious acts, while the bored or disenchanted turn back to their previous activities. After the Resurrection, the Disciples knew that Jesus was alive. But since “the bridegroom was taken away from them,” they decided to go back to fishing, their custom, before they met Jesus (John 21:3).

Dreaming about an old love (even if that relationship ended several years ago) is pretty standard. It simply means you desire your past or an old habit that comforted you.

In the same way, dreaming of your old childhood home may mean something from that time or place is unresolved. That “something” may be as insidious as an old way of thinking (harboring doubt or unbelief). Or, it may be an old habit, addiction, or behavior.

God shatters our mold of expectation every time He does the unexpected. Consider this example of the unusual way God answered Deborah’s prayers (Judges 4-5).

Rain, An Unexpected Weapon

On the one hand, Deborah, the prophetess and mother of children, was accompanied by Barak, the reluctant leader of Israel’s foot soldiers. On the other, there was Sisera, the seasoned war general from Canaan. His mighty armored battalion seemed to hold the clear advantage to win the battle. At least, that’s what Sisera assumed.

God made it rain buckets. Why? Neither horse nor chariot wheel could run through the mud. Even the sharpshooters (the archers) missed their targets in the deluge as the torrent swept them away. An invincible enemy was tamed by …rain! Then God did the unexpected again. He used another woman named Jael, from the family of Moses’ father-in-law, to execute an exhausted Sisera. She did not even have a sword. Her weapon of warfare was a common household item – a tent peg through the general’s temple while he rested in her tent.

Only God had the wisdom and foresight to know that a good gully washer of a rainstorm would balance the scales and allow Israel’s swordsmen to defeat an armored battalion. 

When Spiritual Warfare Brings Unexpected Weather

They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera, and the angel of the Lord was a part of the action (Judges 5:20-23). The Kingdom of Light fought against the darkness that had empowered Sisera to prevail against other nations in his previous battles.

Scriptures reveal that God responds in thunders and lightning against the enemy when His children cry out to Him for help. There are other links between spiritual warfare and lousy weather. For example, Job experienced destructive weather as a direct result of Satan’s (angelic) interference (Job 1:12, 16, 18-19).

When Jesus said to his Disciples, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake,” to the Gerasenes, a storm arose to try to stop them – most likely the principalities and powers that ruled over that region. Why? Jesus was on His way to deliver a man (a future evangelist) from the legion of demons that held him captive (Luke 8:23-29).

Later, the Apostle Paul, en route to Rome, experienced a violent storm that resulted in a shipwreck. However, after several days, an angel assured him he would survive and stand before Caesar (Acts 27:14-24).

This dream, seen a few years ago, illustrates that there is often more going on than we can see.

Prophetic Dream: A Battle in the Heavens

I walked to my car at the end of the workday. On the way, I had an open vision.

I saw a meteorologist forecasting a highly unusual weather pattern over the Southeastern US. The colorful weather map revealed a jet stream making a sharp V with the vertex (lowest point) over South Florida.

(Just as suddenly, the vision ended, and the dream continued.)
Now, in my car, about to exit the parking lot, my eye caught a large dazzling white pinion (wing) lying on the grass at the side of the driveway. I stopped to take a look. It was radiant, and there was no blood—only a milky pulp at the attachment site. Instinctively, I “knew” it belonged to a warrior angel injured in a battle in the heavens above. A violent clash occurred between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. For the rest of the dream (which I will not detail here), I either saw or spoke with people who varied in their readiness for the coming major weather event over South Florida. The forecast was for hurricane-gale force winds (End).

Dream Interpretation: The ripped-out wing was a clue that the angelic battle in progress was related to the forecast. I know little about meteorology, but a V-shaped jet stream so far south would cause nasty weather. When cool air collides with warm tropical air, the result is a storm and often tornadoes. This dream conveyed an urgency to get ready spiritually and naturally for forecasted (prophesied) conflicts that are occurring and will occur between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness.

Expecting the Unexpected in Deborah’s Prophetic Word

Take notice of what the prophetess Deborah said to Barak.  She said that God would use a woman to defeat Sisera (Judges 4:9). Deborah did not explain how it would happen, yet God fulfilled His Word.  It would have been easy to presume that the woman God planned to use was going to the battle (Deborah). However, God chose a completely different woman who was nowhere near the battlefield. Furthermore, the Word was fulfilled after Sisera left the battlefield, not during the battle as expected.

God’s timelines are often different from ours, because His Way of doing things are higher than the heavens are above the earth. And this is the answer to the next question.

Expecting Prophets to Mean What they Say

So, did all the prophets get it wrong? 

No. The Prophet Habakkuk complained that God was not doing enough to curb the evil in the land. Then, he wisely added (my paraphrase)- I know I’ve said too much. I am going to hush now and let God respond. He is always right, and He will probably correct me again. Habakkuk “saw” God’s response, majesty, and how much God despised wickedness. The prophet was beyond astonished. What he saw made him tremble and pray for mercy! (Chapters 1-3).

Prophets sometimes speak under the unction of the Holy Spirit with little forethought as to what they will say from sentence to sentence, and what they speak may be a parable. Seers receive revelation a little differently. Seers “see” (as John Paul Jackson used to describe) the co-existing spiritual realm (other dimensions) and the activities of angels and demons through dreams, visions, and encounters. Many prophets are seers and vice versa. However, since there is no time in the spiritual realm, a revelation’s fulfillment date usually remains a gray area.

It’s the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to seek a matter out. Meaning, it is “kingly” (a true honor) to seek God for answers (Proverbs 25:2).  

Expecting the Unexpected Pleases God

Since there is glory in God’s Presence while seeking a word from Him, let us not be too quick to stone His prophets as they did in ancient Israel. Many prophets wait to hear from God, while others still need to grow in their gifts. At the same time, let us not go back to doubt and unbelief by throwing away God’s extraordinary Promises simply because we are unsure how or when He will fulfill His Word. This is especially true when the mouths of two or three witnesses confirm a Word!

Why God Speaks in Parables

God speaks in riddles and parables to hide revelation in plain sight. He does not divulge the future because He wants to protect us from our invisible enemies, unbelief, and ourselves. Though Satan and his principalities have a long history of hindering the prayers of the saints to discredit God and to test our faith, God remains unmatched as a strategist (1 Thessalonians 2:18, Daniel 10:12-13).

Friends, let us be encouraged to know that God keeps His Word and responds unexpectedly. Since our prayers directly influence what goes on in the heavens and what manifests on earth, we should neither quit praying nor return to old ways. Doing that displeases God. Let’s continue leaning in, trusting, and believing God above our limited understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) and do so with expectancy, especially when things do not go as anticipated. God is righteous, just, and always fulfills His Word. Amen!

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