Expect The Unexpected Series

A few years ago (2017), authorities apprehended a group of Minnesota teens for attempting to steal a cake from a local grocery store. The teens were embarrassed, but even more so when they discovered the cake was fake—it was a cardboard display cake. The grocery store owner decided not to press charges, but the local police and news stations took the opportunity to poke some fun. They posted the story with phrases like "#nocakeforyou" and "not-so-sweet surprise" (The Associated Press, "3 Teens Caught Stealing Cardboard Display Cake in Minnesota," ABC News, 6-07-2017; www.PreachingToday.com).

Life is full of not-so-sweet surprises even when you’re doing what’s right, much more when you’re doing what you know to be wrong. So, learn to expect the unexpected, and you won’t be disappointed. You’ll enjoy life a little bit more. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ecclesiastes 9, Ecclesiastes 9, where the Bible lays this all out.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all (ESV).

Remember, this is a view of life “under the sun,” i.e., without God. Without God, time and chance may reverse what you expect: slow people win races; weak people win battles; and stupid people win food, fortune, and favor. Whereas the fast, strong, and wise lose out on all of these. Time and chance sabotage any effort you might put into life, because people don’t know what the next minute will bring.

Ecclesiastes 9:12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them (ESV).

One minute life is going great. The next minute you’re trapped in a bad situation like fish and birds caught in a snare. You are not the master of your fate. You are the victim of time and chance (Schultz, Evangelical Commentary on the Bible).

That’s life under the sun—without God. Life is unpredictable, so…

EXPECT TO BE SURPRISED.

You don’t know what’s ahead, so anticipate disappointment. Things do not go as planned, so expect your efforts to be upended.

Time magazine used to publish a column called Winners and Losers.

In an August 2001 issue, they put Rudy Giuliani in the “Loser” category. He was the lame duck New York City mayor, suffering from crumbling health, a crumbling marriage, and a crumbling political career. What a loser, Time suggested. Who would want to be this guy?

In a July 2001 issue, they put Ted Olson in the "Winner" category. He was a rising star as Solicitor General of the United States. What a winner, Time proclaimed. Who wouldn't envy this guy?

Yet, within a matter of weeks of those two issues, Time would refer to Giuliani as the “Mayor of the World” and a “tower of strength” for his leadership in the aftermath of September 11. Their December 31, 2001, issue named him “2001 Person of the Year.”

On the other hand, Ted Olson buried his wife, Barbara, who was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77. It was the flight which crashed into the Pentagon on September 11. Let me tell you. No one envied him at that moment (Time magazine, July and August 2001; J. Richard Love, www.PreachingToday.com).

How tragic! But there are no guarantees in life, especially without God. Life is unpredictable, so expect to be surprised. Specifically…

EXPECT PEOPLE TO DESPISE YOUR WISDOM.

Anticipate that some will view your best ideas with contempt. Assume that many will forget your practical advice, even if it works.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-15 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man (ESV).

A poor man’s wise advice saves his city against a powerful king, but no one remembers him to reward him. In fact, people despised the poor man’s wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9:16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard (ESV).

People held his wise advice with contempt, even though it bested a mighty army. And you can expect people to do the same with you.

Stanislav Petrov, a Russian military duty officer, was just a few hours into his shift when alarms blared. They warned of intercontinental missiles that an American base had just launched.