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Christianity Today, March, 2008 |

Count Your Surprises

The high spots of my life have been anything but expected.

J.I. Packer | posted 3/14/2008 09:04AM

It has been a full quarter-century since the long-haired clergyman with the ukulele drilled the church's children in singing, "God is a surprise, right before your eyes, God is a surprise." But the words ...

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John Lovelace

Posted: March 27, 2008 8:21 AM

I'm thankful that this great man of God shared with us his many happy surprises because it helped me to remember with real joy the many happy surprises that God has given me during my 60 years as a foreign missionary and a pastor. Also, recently I made a stupid mistake that cost my wife and I some money we didn't need to lose, but his thoughts about being thankful is helping me get back to the right spirit of thankfulness that I had lost. Thanks so much for this.

Fred Walker

Posted: March 21, 2008 7:14 PM


From what Packer wrote it doesn't appear that many of us will have experiences to the same degree that he did so I don't really find that encouraging. The point that God has surprised each of us and provided for us and that we simply need to look for and be thankful for that is what I think is most beneficial.

mike rucker

Posted: March 17, 2008 11:06 PM

i forced myself to read this - packer and other reformed types having gotten under my skin of late. ted mentions here about the "damaged lives that result when bad doctrine takes over" - i don't think people are seeing enough the damage that doctrinal legalism is doing to us at present. but i said, no, something says you need to read this. and i'm glad i did. there are real people behind even those with views different from our own, aren't there? and, not surprisingly in the least, God is quite capable of touching the heart of anyone who allows him to touch it - regardless of which verses they have underlined in whatever book they hold. thanks, mr. packer, for helping me pull down my own "steel curtain" and start to see God in - and to thank Him for - the good things, and not simply stand ready to blame him for the bad. mikerucker.wordpress.com.

God surprises

Posted: March 16, 2008 3:36 PM


God surprises his leadership so that they have a fresh revelation of his power and authority. If a church "leader" has not been surprised by God then I question their faith; they cannot have encountered God but know him only indirectly through human rote teaching.

Stan Brown

Posted: March 14, 2008 2:59 PM


Nothing but a huge AMEN! Although I am probably much older {84} still active for God, and only returned to trluy follow all of HIS plans for my life, some 20 years ago, the blessings are beyond belief and have usually come from what this world calls losers, BUT GOD CALLS HIS BELOVED CHILDREN! It's a ball and Ecclesiastes got it all right!

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