Photo credit: Mathew Coulton, Unsplash
Trusting the Giver of Good (2 minutes, 2 seconds)
Our daughter’s dog, Greta, was sweet and snuggly. She was also sneaky! We caught her many times mid-act, stealing and swallowing raw eggs from our chicken coop! Perhaps because of this bawdy behavior, Greta developed a significant allergy to eggs and, oddly, to chicken.
Greta’s digestive challenge meant we had to restrict her to a specific dog-food-only diet with a side of a particular dog treat—no table scraps ever, for her own good.
Several summers ago, with no other option and a bit of trepidation, Greta was entrusted to the care of my mom, who was notorious for humanizing pets. Because of this, we left written instructions communicating that Greta should only be fed the dog food and biscuits that were sent with her.
When we returned for Greta a week and a half later, her eyes were watery, goopy, and red. There was a cut near her eyelid where she had vigorously scratched her itchy eyes. I quickly learned that Greta had been hand-fed freshly grilled chicken and scrambled eggs for her daily dining pleasure. My mom enthusiastically assured me that Greta loved every morsel!
Arriving home, Greta exited our car lethargic, head drooping. What dog wouldn’t have wanted to stay at gourmet-food-grandma’s? Her sullenness seemed to have disappeared overnight as she sat, ears perked in eager anticipation of breakfast. Patting her head, I dumped a scoop of dog food into her bowl in front of her. Greta watched it land in her bowl and sat motionless, staring at the bowl.
After a lengthy moment, she looked up at me expectantly. It occurred to me she was waiting for her chicken or scrambled eggs to drop. She looked down at her bowl and then slowly back up at me.
For the next two days, she didn’t eat even one morsel from her bowl. She even refused her dog treats. On the third day, hunger overtook her stubbornness, and she gingerly started picking through her bowl, nibbling half-heartedly at a few kibbles.
I consider my own heart.
Some days, I want something different than what God has provided. Some mornings, when my manna falls, it doesn’t look like what I hoped for or expected.
God knows our necessities better than we do. Our loving Father also knows our wants and wishes well, and in His abundant kindness toward us, He so often delights in showering us with many of these non-essentials. He knows consummately what will bring us good and what will bring us harm, and He is trustworthy.
The Israelites in Jesus’ time had needs and wants. They wanted the political kingdom of Israel to be restored. They prayed, watched, and waited in expectation of a powerful leader and ruler. Instead of getting what they wanted and expected, they got what they needed. A baby named Jesus showed up in a manger. To God’s eternal glory, we can be profoundly thankful that we sometimes don’t get what we want and hope for!
Let’s lay all of our requests: our needs, our wishes, our wants, at the feet of Jesus, who satisfies our desires with good things (Psalm 103:5).
While we wait in faith, let’s ask God to do a sanctifying work in us so that we learn increasingly to trust our heavenly Father, the Giver of good, who fills our lives (our bowls!) with good things.
Let’s choose to be grateful and satisfied with what falls from heaven, and may God give us eyes to see His good and heavenly provisions as sufficient and best.