When God Surprises You: Receiving His Perfect Gifts in God's Timing
- mistiehouse
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Have you ever held so tightly to your own plans that you almost missed God's better ones?
I remember sitting at my work's training session, wearing capris and sporting freshly sunburned ankles from the day before at the pool. I had no idea that across that mile-long table sat the answer to prayers I'd been whispering to God in my broken moments. I didn't know that the cute face looking back at me would become my husband, my partner in building a kingdom house.
But more importantly, I almost said no.
The Power of Letting Go
I had finally reached a place of contentment. I was thriving at my bank job, growing in my relationship with God, and learning to be satisfied in Him alone. I had stopped desperately searching for love and started trusting God with my future. I was no longer trying to force my own dreams into reality. I finally surrendered my heart's desire to God–praying for and believing God to bring me the man I needed, not the one I thought I wanted.
That's when Christopher came into my life.
Isn't it just like God? When we finally stop striving and start surrendering, He shows up with gifts we didn't even know we needed.
Receiving vs. Grasping
There's a critical difference between receiving a gift and grasping for one. For years, I had been grasping—trying to make my first love work, clinging to my own vision of what happiness should look like, attempting to manufacture the life I thought I wanted.
But receiving? That requires open hands. Empty hands. Trusting hands.
When Chris came along, I was conflicted. Although I had surrendered my dream, I was still holding onto the vision I saw for myself. I kept pushing him away, scared to fully embrace what God was offering because it meant letting go of what I had imagined for myself.
Here's what I learned: "Sometimes in order to be free to receive, we first must be willing to let go." -Emergence: How to Experience Beauty and New Life in Dead and Dark Places
That's a quote from my award-winning Christian book where I share my story of God's transformational work in my life and marriage. In fact, this post is based on Chapter 8: My Gift from God.
Today, I want to encourage you to get your hands and your heart into a receiving posture. Be ready to embrace the unexpected gift God has prepared for you. Allow Him to surprise you!
God's Dreams Are Better Than Ours
When God finally answered my prayer, I hesitated briefly. I was still fighting for control over my dream. I expected it to happen a certain way. For a moment, I was making myself lord over that area of my life, declaring what was best for me rather than trusting that only God knows what's truly best.
When God surprised me with Chris, it caught me off guard. Even though my hands were open and expecting God to bring the right man at the right time, when He finally did, I nearly rejected His gift because it wasn't what I envisioned.
The difference was–it was far greater than I could have dreamed.
1 Corinthians 2:9 (TPT) states: "This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine—these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers."
This verse emphasizes the vastness and depth of God's plans and the mysteries that await His followers. God's plan was profound. It was so much bigger and greater than I imagined.
God knew what He was doing, even though I didn't yet understand. God had been getting us ready for one another. Chris and I had both been seeking God separately. We had both learned to put Him first in our lives before He brought us together. We were prepared for success collectively as a couple because we had invited God to be the center—the cornerstone—of our lives and marriage. He saw behind the scenes. He looked into our hearts. He rewarded our faithfulness and obedience. He blessed us beyond measure. All we had to do was say, Yes!
All along, God was moving. God had moved me from my old job, where I was miserable, and placed me in a new environment where I would meet my future husband. He prepared our hearts to be ready for one another when the time was right. He took two broken but faithful souls and healed our wounds as He wrapped us in His beauty and love with a big red bow. God's ways and thoughts are greater and higher than our own, and God's timing is perfect!
The Gift You're Waiting For
Maybe you're in a season of waiting right now. Maybe you've been praying for something—a spouse, a job, healing in your body, or direction for your future. Maybe, like me, you've even grown content in the waiting.
Let me encourage you with this truth: God loves to give good gifts to His children.
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11)
But here's the key—we have to ask Him, not demand of Him. We have to surrender control to Him, not wrestle it away. We have to love Him first, not use Him as a means to get what we want. That's when He moves. That's when He pours out His perfect gifts.
Believe it and prepare your heart to receive it!
Learning to Wait in God's Timing
Just a year before meeting Chris, I had spent Christmas alone, broken and empty-handed. Exactly one year later, in His way and in His timing, God gave me a precious gift—one that was too big to fit under any Christmas tree. My wonderful husband-to-be, a new man to love and be loved by, and an upcoming, redeemed marriage.
God had rewarded us both with love as we both learned to love God first.
Your timing might look different. Your gift might come in a different package. You might be caught off guard when God surprises you. But the principle remains the same: When you put God first, He gives you more than you ever dreamed you were praying for. Embrace His gift!
Breaking Inner Vows
I want to pause here and address something critical. In high school, feeling overwhelmed by helping raise my younger siblings, I had vowed to never have kids until I was thirty. I didn't realize I had made an inner vow—a self-directed promise that declared lordship over an area of my life rather than surrendering that area to God.
The very area I swore to control became the area where the enemy attacked and brought pain into my life.
Inner vows are dangerous. They're subtle declarations that we know better than God. Jesus forbids them for our protection:
"But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:33-37)
If you've made inner vows—"I'll never trust again," "I'll never let anyone hurt me," "I'll never be poor," "I'll never marry"—I encourage you to repent. Acknowledge that these vows were wrong, ask for God's forgiveness, and turn away from them. The absence of inner vows allows for the presence of God to administer blessings, gifts, and opportunities as He deems worthy.
Your Invitation
Sweet child of God, invite your Heavenly Father to intervene in your situation. Hear His gentle and loving voice. Remember your responsibility to trust Him with your dreams, your desires, your future. Then look to Him for instruction, agree with His words, and obey His commands.
Don't hesitate to receive what He wants to give you.
I nearly rejected God's gift because I was holding onto my own dream. I almost missed out on twenty+ years of beautiful marriage, two precious daughters, and a life I never could have orchestrated on my own.
God's promises are true. When we put our faith and trust in Him, there is no limit to what He will do. We just have to go to Him and ask.
Building on the Rock
Today, Chris and I have been married for twenty-one+ years. We've raised two beautiful daughters. We've weathered storms and celebrated victories. And through it all, we've kept God at the center.
Our marriage isn't perfect—we're not perfect. But we've built our house on the Rock. And that foundation has held strong through every season.
Whatever you're waiting for, whatever dream you're holding, I encourage you to do this: Place it in God's hands. Surrender control. Love Him first. Learn to be satisfied in Him alone.
And then watch what He does.
Because when God surprises you with His gifts, they're always better than anything you could have wrapped up for yourself.
This blog post was inspired by my award-winning book "Emergence." If this message encouraged you, I'd love to hear your story. Are you learning to wait on God's timing? Have you experienced His perfect gifts after surrender? Share in the comments below.
Prayer:Â Father God, thank You for loving us enough to give us better gifts than we could imagine for ourselves. Help us to surrender our dreams, our plans, and our timelines to You. Teach us to love You first and to trust Your timing. Give us the courage to receive what You want to give us, even when it looks different than what we expected. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Get my book, Emergence, and learn about my children's books by visiting my Amazon Page at the link below.
Christian children's books by author Mistie House:
Also, check out this Christian song, My Gift from God, inspired by my book
on YouTube at the link below:
