When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus. (Matthew 9:9)

Ponder It.

• What is something spontaneous you’ve done lately?
• On the structure/spontaneity spectrum, where do you generally live?
• How has God moved in spontaneous ways in your life?

Receive It. Grace is enough for every situation. Even when things pop up throughout the day, God’s grace is sufficient. What seems spontaneous to us is known and expected by God. Structure helps our lives take shape; spontaneity adds character. It’s not always character we fully embrace. Some surprises aren’t what we prefer, but other times we jump in with both feet. When it rains, and the puddles begin to form, we can jump in with both feet and enjoy the splash, or we can carefully walk around or stay inside. Neither option is always the best choice. God will lead us in different ways at different times. He wants us to stop and smell the flowers in one situation, clip and share the flowers in another situation, and focus on the stepping stones ahead of us in yet another situation. The best kind of spontaneity is being willing to respond to what God wants. And when we live out that kind of spontaneity in an ongoing way, we’re actually making it a sort of structure in our lives.

Even though God knows how his grace is being lived out through situations and relationships we don’t even see, responding to and in God’s grace will often involve spontaneity on our part. When we are sensitive to God’s leading, he highlights some situations and people around us. When we respond, we are both relying on and living out his grace. We are depending on God to guide and provide. We step off the “my plans for the day” list and take the detour he has planned. We become a vessel into which God pours his grace so it fills us up and overflows onto others.

Live It. Look for an opportunity to be spontaneous today. It can be as simple as calling someone you haven’t talked to for a while or picking up a bouquet of flowers and giving them to a stranger. Look around you and notice where God has placed you in this moment. Listen to how he’s prompting you, then respond by trusting his lead.