The God of Suddenly
I did not expect a day this week to unfold the way it did.
I had an amazing experience. One of those days that feels marked. The kind where the Lord meets you right in the middle of deep heartache and quietly brings healing you did not even realize you needed in that moment.
What happened came completely out of nowhere. A simple meeting that turned into hours of conversation. Stories shared. Truth spoken. Evidence of real transformation unfolding right in front of me. Salvation. Healing. Redemption. It felt sudden. Unexpected. Holy.
Afterward, as I sat with everything that had been said and all that had stirred in my heart, my thoughts drifted back to the Christmas story. I recently read something about God being a God of suddenly. Scripture tells us that suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.
That word has stayed with me.
This day felt sudden to me. What I witnessed felt sudden too. But the truth is, it only seemed sudden from my vantage point. God had been pursuing long before today. He had been working quietly, faithfully, patiently for years. What felt like a change in the rhythm of my plans was actually the unveiling of something He had been doing all along.
This is often how God works.
Sometimes we wait a very long time. Four hundred years passed between the Old and New Testament. Sometimes years pass between promise and fulfillment. Prayers pile up. Hope stretches thin. Silence feels heavy.
And then suddenly, light breaks in.
After hours of conversation and the holy weight of what I witnessed, I found myself doing what Mary did. Scripture tells us she pondered all these things in her heart. That is exactly where I landed. Holding the words. Holding the moments. Letting them settle slowly and reverently.
God wastes nothing. Ever.
Not the years of waiting.
Not the prayers that felt unanswered.
Not the heartache.
Not the silence.
Christmas reminds us that the Light does not rush. It appears exactly when God intends. Sometimes it glows steadily over a long season. And sometimes it arrives all at once, flooding the dark.
Either way, this is true. Today is one day closer than yesterday to where God is leading wandering hearts.
And that truth invites both pondering and praise.
Some days we sit quietly with what He has done.
Some days we lift our hands in gratitude.
And some days, like today, we do both.