Surprise Endings

Most stories are very predictable--the good guys win.  We are so used to this predictability in movies and books that it can be disturbing when real life isn't just as predictable.  Yet, Scripture shows us that life is not predictable.  For example, in the first book of Samuel, the Israelites battled the Philistines.  I expected the Israelites to win.  The story makes it very clear that they were not winning, so they went and got the Ark of the Covenant--the Presence of God--and brought it into battle with them.  A spectacular win would have been the predictable ending to this story, but instead, we read--

The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
[and] the ark of God was captured... (1 Samuel 4:10-11a)

It can be shocking and disturbing when our expectations in life are not met.  It can be even more shocking and disturbing when it explicitly involves God--when we expect God to do one thing and He does something different.  This can often leave us as disappointed and confused as the Israelites after their battle with the Philistines.  

Our response to the unpredictability of life can either be 1) anger, resentment, agnosticism, or atheism, or it can be 2) a deeper appreciation of how God uses everything in life to draw us closer to Himself.  In the words of Saint Ignatius of Loyola-- "Everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God" (Principle and Foundation).