SUDDEN TURNS

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers … And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah … and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon … And Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 

(Matthew 1:2a, 6b, 11, 16)

Have you ever had a sudden turn in your life? You’re expecting things to go on as normal, and suddenly something shocking happens and you find yourself on an entirely new road.

Jesus’ ancestry is full of such turns. Abraham was a childless man who became the father of a nation; Judah was a fourth son who inherited his father’s blessing after his older brothers’ crimes. Salmon was a leader who married a Canaanite prostitute; their son Boaz married a poor foreign girl, Ruth, and became the great- grandfather of King David. David was a shepherd who replaced a disastrous king. If David had stayed away from murder and adultery, his son Solomon would probably never have been born!

Some of these turns were terrible, though not all. But all of them were unexpected—except to God. God knows exactly what He’s doing when He throws a turn into our lives—or takes advantage of one we caused by doing wrong. Even our sin can’t stop Him!

And of course, the greatest turn of all is the one when God came into our world as a human being: Jesus Christ, to suffer, die, and rise again for us. Because of Him, we are finally on the right road—with all our wrong turns forgiven.

Lord, help me to trust in You when my life changes suddenly. Amen.

Reflect & Discuss

1. Name a time when your life changed suddenly.
2. What were you expecting? What actually happened?
3. How did God help you deal with your new situation?