It's 11:30. I just picked Annabelle up from school and we are headed to the Dublin Chick-fil-a to meet some friends.
The girls are hungry. They beg and beg and beg for a snack. I tell them over and over again we are headed to one of their favorite places to eat to get chicken nuggets and French fries!! They will not relent. They whine and fuss and I finally give in. (I know don't judge.) They eat away at the snacks in the car and when we get to Chick-fil-a they are not very hungry... surprise surprise.
It so reminded me of my relationship with my God. (Kids are good at that huh?) If God doesn't give me what I want when I want it I think He is withholding something good from me and a lot of times I begin to question the kind of God I serve. "Could He really be good if He withholds what I believe is good from me?" I fuss and whine in my foolishness.
God tells us in scripture over and over again that He works things out for good (Rom 8:28) and that He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jer 29:11). To sum it up, He always has our very best interest at heart. Period.
(Although, I hesitate to even make a comparison to the way I parent to how God treats me, I believe some concepts are the similar and help me see His real and true character.)
All Annabelle and Adelyn can see is that they are not getting what they want when they want it. And all
I want is the best for my children, this is why I don't want them to ruin their lunch with snacks.
What if I simply chose to trust God's
timing is absolutely perfect? Trust that He is not withholding anything good from me. Trust that He wants my absolute best that's why He doesn't give me just what I want when I want it. Trust that His time table and mind so far surpass what I can see and think.
To me the ultimate test is if I can choose to be thankful in situations when I do not "get my way?" Thankfulness cannot often be "faked."
Can I say, "Lord I trust you if you give me what I desperately desire or if it's not what's best for me and I never see it?" Can I thank you any way? No matter what?
This is the true essence of our relationship with the Lord isn't it? Trust? Faith? Believing His promises in spite of what we see?
I fall short so much of the time but I want to trust and thank Him no matter what. When I see my children even desire to do the right thing and have the right attitude I am so pleased and proud of them and I know my God is the same.
He doesn't demand perfection in a hateful way. He sees our hearts and He knows our desires and He is oh so patient with us. And for that I am thankful.
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.
18 To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?
21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 How can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40
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1 comment:
Thank you so much for this post. I am going through a dark time of waiting on the His perfect timing. I needed to be reminded of thanking Him even when I don't want to. In fact, He is speaking strongly to me in this matter. I have heard and read several blogs/devotions/sermons over the last few weeks that have mentioned, thanking God even when things are not working out as I planned. Thanks so much! I have enjoyed reading your blog over the last few months.
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