Determining God's will often feels like we're solving a riddle.

When we're trying to make a major decision, or when we're dealing with an unexpected event,

we struggle to understand what God wants.

Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindall presents another message in his enlightening

series called The Mystery of God's Will. In this next study, Chuck will describe those moments

when we're caught off guard by God's plan. How do we respond when he drops a bombshell, a shocking

revelation, into our path? Chuck titled today's message, Surprised by God.

There's a couple of passages I want to read for us as we prepare for today's message on

Surprised by God.

We're calling it Genesis 22.

And then one verse out of Romans chapter 11, Genesis 22 beginning at verse 1.

Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, here I am.

And he said, take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of

Mariah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him

and Isaac his son and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Now, I try to imagine the scene.

On the third day, Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

And Abraham said to his young man, stay here with the donkey.

I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship and return to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son, and he took in his

hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

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