I Knew This Would Happen
“I KNEW this would happen!”—these words coming out of my ten-year-old’s mouth were a surprising delight to my ears. Usually, if I hear this phrase, it’s always in reference to something going wrong. “Ugh—I knew this would happen…” I might say this to myself when getting stuck in traffic or when the grocery store is out of my favorite snack, finding a previous negative experience to repeat itself and happen again. I’ve actively worked on not always assuming the worst, but I know this is part of our human nature, too, and I had only ever heard this phrase come out of the mouths of my peers in a similar context of frustration and disappointment. My little guy’s words sounded out of place—such a frequently negative statement said in such a positive tone.
“You knew this would happen?” I asked. Stevie looked up at me and smiled. We were surrounded by new friends from our new church, in a new town—at an evening summer small group on the beach. The ocean waves were crashing, the kids were playing and laughing, and a beautiful pink sunset filled the sky. “Yes, Mom. You told me we were going to get to go to the beach more, and it’s just like you said.”
Stevie’s words made my heart burst with peace and relief that evening. My biggest fear in our recent move was how it would affect our kids. Moves are hard, and sometimes they impact little people the most. Stevie’s words not only gave me such peace and confirmation that obeying God’s lead and following Him to a new place was the right thing for all of us, but my child’s words also showed me the fruit of looking at life through a more positive lens. The move was so out of his control. But he heard the good things about it, looked forward to those things with confidence, and embraced the positive evidence with joy and celebration.
He surprised me again on the way to church one Sunday. New places with lots of new faces are always a big adjustment for me. As much as I love people, I always get nervous in a new environment. As we turned into the church parking lot, a traffic director greeted us with a friendly wave. “I don’t know any of these people…” I thought to myself. Moments later, my precious child vocalized his inner dialogue again. Amazed by this stranger’s friendliness, he beamed, “Wow—everyone loves us here, Mom!”
Children have a way of teaching us so much about life, and I’m so grateful to hear such a beautifully positive inner voice coming out of my youngest child. His thoughts immediately challenged mine and showed me where I was allowing the fear of something new to override my faith and trust that God the Father had carefully paved the path that got us there. Just like Stevie trusted me when I told him it was going to be good, so I can trust my Father and anticipate that He has good plans for my life.
Paul writes about our worries and how to overcome them in Philippians:
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-8 NLT
Exchange worry for prayer. Mention your needs to God, but don’t forget to thank Him, too. And then, fix your thoughts on every good thing! Statistically, it is not the happy who are grateful, but the grateful who are happy, proving this practice in Scripture to be true. We will find more of whatever it is we’re looking for!
What does your inner dialogue sound like today? Do you tend to look for what could go wrong? In what ways can you challenge your thinking and ask yourself what could go right instead? As we surrender our expectations, our dreams, our hopes, and even our fears and worries about tomorrow to Jesus, may they be exchanged for perfect peace as we anticipate and celebrate every good thing He has given us.
