El McMeen comments on how God reveals Himself

El McMeen

When I was a kid in the 1950's, I loved "surprise balls." They cost US $1 apiece - a lot of money in those days. They were balls made of seeming miles (O.K., "kilometres") of strips of crepe paper. As the eager child unwound the ball, little plastic treasures popped out.

They were a win-win-win product. The manufacturer had, I would guess, about 25 cents of product cost, and so a tidy profit margin. The kid had the joy of knowing there were treasures in there, and the joy of discovering them by unwinding the crepe (and making a slight mess in the process). The parents had to endure some cleanup, but got the benefit of some time and focus on the part of the kid in unwinding the ball and enjoying the little items along the way.

Those little balls may be coming back, especially in Japan. Their concept is highly inconsistent with our age of instant gratification however, so we shall see how they fare.

So, what's the point, you may be saying now?

Scriptures tell us that the Lord shares Himself with us. The more we desire of Him, the more we receive. Since we simply can't appreciate the enormity and holiness of God, He gives us glimpses, images, hints. And they are tied to His intimate knowledge of us. He knew us before the beginning of time - another amazing fact.

The Lord instilled in me a love of surprise balls, and gave me the revelation that if I approach each day as if it were a surprise ball, He would reveal to me treasures. Those treasures have been, so far, specific insights; specific tasks for that day; delightful little connections between things in space and time; solutions to problems; and even, I would argue, some major revelations and evidence of spiritual gifts that have changed my life.

We all may have our own personal images or outlines of God, and notions of God's plan for us. He knows the size and types of dots that each of us needs to connect, and He gives them to us if we hunger and thirst to know those dots and desire to connect them for His glory.

That having been said, I commend the surprise ball image to you. It encourages humility. We start by admitting that we really don't have a clue what treasures He will spring on us - or when. That lack of knowledge, however, leads to anticipation rather than the usual anxiety. It, moreover, evidences a wide-open heart for God, knowing that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called for His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

This approach is very biblical, too. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 37:4:

"Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

What a promise! We delight in the Lord by, among other things, appreciating the mystery of how He works. We take account of His holiness, his immeasurable creativity, and His desire to shape believers into the image of His Son. And we will receive not what we think we need; not what we think we want; not even what God thinks we need (how about that one!) Instead, the promise is that we will receive the desires of our heart.
If our heart beats close enough to God's, our desires will be His desires!

Our earth is the biggest surprise ball with which we have personal experience, so it's not crazy to think of life as I suggest.

And to be honest, I didn't know what to write for this column until the Lord laid this "surprise ball" message on me.

Only the Lord would think to make a gift to me of a message about surprise balls yielding gifts! Praise God!