When was the last time you were genuinely, truly surprised? If it's been more than twenty-four hours, it's been too long. Why? Being certain of God requires being graciously uncertain of where our next steps in life will take us.
St. Patrick was open to God's surprises, though not all of them were pleasant. Kidnapped as a teenager, he spent six years in Ireland as a slave before escaping and going back to England. After entering the ministry, Patrick obeyed God's surprising call to return to the Emerald Isle to share Jesus Christ with the very people who had imprisoned him. Patrick's profound prayer life and resulting certainty of God's nature made him even more open to uncertainty elsewhere. In fact, without Patrick's openness to divine surprises, we would not be celebrating God's work through him today.
Too often, we set our calendars and make plans without seeking God's will. Only as an afterthought, we ask Him to bless what we have already decided. Why, then, are we shocked when our lives seem devoid of God's surprising miracles? St. Patrick invites us to a surprising and unpredictable life -- forever uncertain of self, yet eternally sure of God.
Inscrutable God, quiet my busy soul in You,
that I might be open to Your daily surprises.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Reprinted from Portals of Prayer, Concordia Publishing House.
