The Bible is filled with stories about God surprising people with His call on their life. Noah lived in a wicked generation. One day God showed up and called Noah to build an ark. That assignment took him over a century to complete. His obedience preserved human life and animal life. Genesis 6-9. The surprise voice of God changed Noah's life.
God surprised Abraham one morning telling him to pack up and leave for an unknown destination. God informed Abraham that he was leave his kinfolks, leave his country, and go to a land that would be revealed in the future. Everything about that surprise voice of God led to steps of faith. Imagine if God did that in your life. If He surprised you with news that required a move without revealing the end destination. I can only imagine Abraham having that conversation with his father who probably did not understand. That was a surprise. You can read about that in Genesis 12:1-3.
You can fast forward to Exodus 3:1-12 when God surprised Moses on the back side of the desert where he was tending sheep. In that surprise God encounter, Moses received the call to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. Moses argued that he could not do it. The voice of God persisted and Moses chose to obey. God used him to free Israel from over 400 years of slavery.
God surprised Joshua in Joshua 1:1-9 telling him to lead Israel across the Jordan to the land He promised Israel after Moses' death. Multiple times in that passage God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. The opportunity to fear was real. God also told Joshua to live according to the law and to meditate on that law day and night. God used Joshua to fulfill a promise made all the way back to Abraham.
Jesus surprised some blue collar fishermen with a call on their lives to follow Him and become His disciples. Amazingly these guys left their families and livelihoods to follow. They went on a three year adventure with Jesus witnessing miracles and His arrest and crucifixion. In the end, most of them died violently because they believed Jesus rose from the dead and they kept spreading the message. That original surprise call to follow Him can be found in Matthew 4:18-22.
What God did so many years ago He still does today. He still surprises people with His voice calling people to assignments. God never has to ask permission to surprise someone with His purpose. He has the right and authority to help Himself to our lives as His followers anytime He wants. We never know when He will surprise us with a call. We should live attentive to Him. We must be willing to obey by faith even if we don't understand the call. God still speaks in multiple ways. We should expect to be surprised by His voice when we least expect it.
