This isn't What I Signed Up For!

How do we handle unanticipated plot twists arising in our life stories? 

We may be tempted to declare,

“This is not what I signed up!

I’m out of here!”  That temptation to fear or flee the unfamiliar or the unexpected challenge is ever present. Yet another option is to face the challenge, to declare, "Not my will, but yours be done."  

An Unexpected Curveball Some time ago, a friend invited Paul*

to attend a men’s breakfast at his church since they both played on the church softball team. During the breakfast meeting, the leaders explained that the congregation faced significant financial problems. In his appeal for help, the pastor asked each man attending to consider paying one of the bills laid out on the back table. Such a request shocked the young man. Paul told his friend, “This isn’t what I signed up for!  I just came because I want to play ball!”

Life sometimes throws us “curveballs.” We intend to go one way and find

ourselves striking out in a different direction. Scripture tells us, "A man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his path" (Proverbs 16:9). Paul expereinced the blessing of God's redirection plan during that prayer-breakfast morning. At that time, Paul's Christian commitment was nominal. He was not part of a vibrant church community. His desire was to play softball, not to engage in spiritual matters. Yet something stirred in his soul as he listened to the pastor's plea. He took one of the bills, paid it, and then attended Sunday service the following morning.

A Life-changing Choice After the pastor spoke about discipleship, Paul asked this man to disciple him. The pastor, my husband Alan, agreed to meet the young man, but made it tough: “Meet me at Denny’s at 6 a.m. and bring your Bible, a pen, and notebook.” Alan figured that Paul wouldn’t like getting up so early, especially amid Delaware winters.  However, both men were early risers, so this was no challenge for Paul.

As Alan guided Paul through Proverbs during weekly meetings, their friendship grew. As Paul incorporated the truths of Scripture into his personal and professional practices, his business and his family-life flourished.  He and his wife became connected, respected, vital members of our church community.

Unintended Paths

Similarly, the road of leadership has taken my husband, Alan, and me on several unintended, sometimes unwanted, routes. For instance, my husband never desired to be a pastor. His education and experience focused on school leadership.  However, when the pastor of our church assumed a leadership role in another city, the elders invited Alan to become the full-time teaching pastor. Despite our shock at this development, we sought the Lord through counsel and prayer, accepted the call, and filled that role for the next decade.

The paths where God leads often bring fear, uncertainty, even dismay. Amid these difficult twists and turns, we may think, This isn’t what I signed up for. Yet we must trust that God’s will is right despite its unpleasantness or discomfort. Certainly, Jesus’ path to the cross brought great anguish and pain. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane, just before his arrest, Jesus prayed, "‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done’" (Luke 22:42). Jesus ultimately submitted to His Father’s will, even when it brought pain and suffering. The ultimate consequence of His obedience was our salvation—a costly sacrifice with eternal blessings for those who believe. When we choose to follow Jesus, no matter the cost, only God knows the path of blessing for us and for those whom we encounter along the way. For as Elizabeth Elliot wrote,

It is God to whom and with whom we travel,

And while He is the End of our journey,

He is also at every stopping place.

* Name changed