Hope In The Unexpected
Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church
December 7th Sermon, Day 1
Christmas didn't start with comfort. It began with a government census that forced a pregnant woman and her husband to travel nearly 90 miles on foot. Mary and Joseph didn't choose this journey, yet it was exactly where God showed up in the most extraordinary way.
Life rarely unfolds according to our plans. We face unexpected detours, unwanted interruptions, and circumstances that feel anything but convenient. Yet these very moments often become the stage where God reveals His presence most powerfully. When we're exhausted from the journey we didn't choose, when we're displaced from our comfort zones, when everything feels uncertain - these are precisely the moments when hope can break through.
The same God who orchestrated salvation through a census and a crowded town can work through whatever unexpected circumstances you're facing today. Your current struggle, that unwanted change, or the path you never planned to walk might be exactly where God wants to meet you. Hope doesn't always arrive wrapped in comfort; sometimes it comes through the very situations that challenge us most. The key is recognizing that God is present even when - especially when - life doesn't go according to our script.
Today, instead of resisting the unexpected, consider how God might be preparing something beautiful through the very circumstances that feel most inconvenient. Your story of hope might be beginning right now, in the middle of whatever journey you didn't choose.
Bible Verse
'In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.' - Luke 2:1-7
Reflection Question
What unexpected circumstance in your life right now might actually be God's way of positioning you for something greater than you can imagine?
Quote
Sometimes the journey you didn't choose is the place where God shows up.
Prayer
Lord, help me trust that You are present even in the circumstances I didn't choose. Give me eyes to see how You might be working through the unexpected detours in my life. Help me embrace the journey with faith, knowing that You can bring hope through any situation. Amen.
