If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way? (Acts 11:17, ESV)

I can recall the mile-wide gap between expectation and reality when I first came to Alaska. I am originally from Florida and have only seen the small variety of mountains in the East a handful of times. But what I witnessed as we drove further down the road toward Alaska was a beauty deeper, wider, and more complex than I could have ever imagined. A journey outside of the comfort zone of many and the striking reality of what revealed itself after every turn was astonishing. And so much more than his creation here in Alaska, I am in awe of the way that God blows my expectations out of the water every day. Sometimes I find myself relishing in the discomfort that often accompanies the path because I know that, when God is moving in big ways, discomfort just comes with the territory.

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Friend, how often do you find yourself facing a reality far from what you expected? And have you seen the miraculous ways that God moves when we answer his invitation to step outside our comfort zone?

In today’s verse, we read about Peter’s own encounter with a reality that is much different than he expected. Truth be told, the reality is so much more beautiful than Peter’s expectation anyway. He is shown that the life-giving relationship with Jesus and the filling of the Holy Spirit is for Jewish and Gentile believers alike. I wonder if he was struck with the thought of how sweet it is that God desires deeply for all his creation to be in relationship with him. At this moment Peter surrendered his expectations and pivoted to trust God in the way that HE is working. And even though it required Peter to step out of his comfort zone, he obediently followed, telling his friends of how God was moving. The result of this obedience was great growth in the early church that impacts us to this day.

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What if every time we were caught off guard by something God was doing, we paused for a moment? What if we surrendered our expectations, trusted his wisdom and sovereignty, sought to see the beauty in how he is doing something unexpected, and asked how we could step out of our comfort zone and into his magnificent plan? Although reality may appear to fall below our expectations at times, we can surely trust the One who endured such great discomfort for the purpose of redeeming those he loves. I invite you today to ask God how you can trust him with the unexpected and where he is calling you to step out of your comfort zone.

Father, thank you for giving me grace, even when I fail to trust that you know so much better than I ever will. Please teach me to drop my expectations and replace them with gratitude for your perfect leadership. Help me to surrender my comfort daily and to follow you in whatever you have planned. In Jesus’ name, Amen!