A Sudden Visit

I can remember many Sunday afternoons when my father would load us into the car and set out on a road trip. He seemingly did not have a destination in mind. Some days we would ride around the countryside and return home, other times we would stop at a park, on very rare occasions we would end up at the A&W for a root-beer float or Dryans (a local store) for ice cream (I would get Blue-moon), about half of the time we would end up at Grandpa and Grandma’s place. Which was great fun – they lived on a lake and Grandpa always had a fishing rod and bait available. And if the weather was not good for fishing we sat around the table playing a game (Yahtzee or Rummy or one that allowed for eight or so to play). One thing that always surprised me was that no matter when we showed up, Grandma seemed to be able to cook a meal for all of us (of course we were all recruited to help). I suppose our visit may not have been as much of a surprise as I thought. Invariably someone would show up at sometime so Grandma, always prepared for visitors, had things in reserve. I believe she also liked to cook for others. We all have those times when we are surprised by what comes our way whether it is good things or bad, family or illness, and many times we are not prepared for its arrival.

Our text from Acts shows the different reactions that people have when something arrives suddenly. The disciples just allowed the experience to happen, some of the onlookers were amazed, and others tried to figure out what was happening and explain it away. Peter, while not prepared for this specific event, was able to quote a Bible passage to help the onlookers understand (the quote is from Joel 2:28-32). I suppose that the disciples did have an advantage. Jesus had told them he would send them the Holy Spirit and they had been gathered together for fifty days. Since they did not have cell phones or television they probably spent their time talking about Jesus and their time with him, wondering what would come next, going to the temple to hear scripture read, and praying. Most of what they did prepared them for their next task.

That should be one of our lessons for today. You can be like the disciples spending some of your time preparing for what will happen. Or, you can be like those who were caught completely by surprise and could only understand what they saw as drunken behavior. While our lives usually follow a routine and very little that happens that is surprising or shocking, the unexpected does happen. When it does,  how we handle it depends on how prepared we are. Let the disciples be the example for you. Prepare yourself by spending a bit of time with Jesus each day. Read the Bible and pray. Make it a routine – when you get up in the morning, at noon time, or maybe at the end of the day. It does not have to be long or extensive. When you do spend a bit of time each day with Jesus you will find that when the unexpected happens you are much better prepared to deal with it.