What is this doing in my life?

In many occasions in my life, situations or things or people have appeared which I have not sought. And it is like when we moved and pulled something from a box and asked ourselves, "what do I do with this?"

At other times, God has placed situations or things or people in my life, and it is definitely not what I envisioned. It doesn't look how I had planned it in my head.

"Thanks, but no thanks," we want to tell God. This is hard, or inconvenient, or terribly uncomfortable, or awkward, or downright scary.

Once when I was traveling as a college student at a rather crude campground in Czechoslovakia, the bathroom was enough to make you gag. I won't go into details, but when I pulled out my toothbrush, it fell on the putrid floor. I didn't even want to pick it up, let alone use it. I stood there a moment, and one of the girls on our trip chuckled and said, "Oh, that's why." What are you talking about? When she had packed for the trip, her mother was helping and put into her bag a new toothbrush which my friend didn't need because she had packed her own. So for all these many weeks, she had wondered why she was carrying around an extra toothbrush. As it turned out, it wasn't for her after all.

I thought of that experience when on Palm Sunday, the pastor was talking about Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
"...He sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here. If any one asks you 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this, 'The LORD has need of it." (Luke 19. 29-31)

What has God placed before you, who has God put on your path, what extra toothbrush has He given you? It may not be for you at all. "The LORD has need of it." It may not be on your radar, but what He designed all along.

And how many times do we totally miss what He is trying to do through us because our eyes are on ourselves instead of Him?

Quadriplegic Joni Eareckson said that the difference happened in her life when she stopped asking God, "Why?" and started asking Him, "What?"

What unused, unnecessary, even unwanted "colt" has God placed in your life? "The LORD has need of it."

Press on, friends.