The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put it this way: Contestants have a better chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot (1 in roughly 302 million), taking the Powerball jackpot (1 in 292.2 million), or being struck by lightning (less than 1 in 1 million). 

It’s nearly impossible to predict all of the games correctly, clearly! The March Madness tournament is typically filled with upsets, Cinderella stories, buzzer beaters and unexpected storylines. That’s why it’s called March Madness, and that’s what makes it so fun and exciting for fans. 

But do you know when unpredictable circumstances are not as fun? In life. Sometimes they can be, yes. But most of the time, I’d be willing to bet that the majority of people prefer a certain degree of predictability in their lives. When you choose to order your life around God and surrender to Him, your life won’t necessarily become perfectly predictable. There will still be surprises, unexpected twists and turns, and unforeseen situations that arise. That’s life! But God’s nature, His character, is 100% predictable. Here are a couple examples:

His LOVE is predictable. It literally never changes! You cannot do anything to make God love you more or less. No matter what kind of sticky situation you find yourself in, God loves you still the same. You never have to wonder or calculate the odds. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39

His MERCY is predictable. God does not give you what your sins deserve. If you sinned 100 times or 1,000 times today, God will forgive you. You can count on it! His mercy and forgiveness are nothing like a March Madness plot twist. Until He returns to make all things new, there will never be a day when He tires of cleansing and purifying your heart if that is your heart’s desire. When you repent and turn to Him, He will offer forgiveness and restoration every single time.

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. -Daniel 9:9

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. -Lamentations 3:22-23

His ACCESSIBILITY is predictable. Anytime you turn to God, He is available and ready to listen. You will never receive an “out of office” auto-reply. You never have to wonder if He’s listening! He always is. Sometimes He’ll answer on a different timeline or in a different way than you prefer, but that doesn’t mean He didn’t hear you. Be confident in knowing that if you express anything to God, at any time of day, in any place, with any kind of emotion, He hears you. There’s no go-between, and there’s no need to schedule an appointment in advance. God is always accessible. 

God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it. -Psalm 145:18

There are so many more examples of God’s predictability…. Too many to mention! When it comes to His attributes, they never change. He is always faithful, holy, just, good, righteous, impartial and wise. He is always a perfect provider, guide, preserver and savior. Take comfort in His predictability! What a relief that there are some things we never have to wonder about. If I could find a contest to enter that banks on the character of God, my odds would be—well, they wouldn’t even be odds! There would be no “chances” to calculate. It would be a perfectly certain “gamble.” Sign me up for that bracket competition every time. Thanks be to God, whose character is predictable in the best possible way!

But you remain the same, and your years will never end. -Psalm 102:27