If you were offered one of these two gifts, which would you choose...
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| Photo courtesy of irum and sxc.hu |
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| Photo courtesy of mm904ut and sxc.hu |
I don't know about you, but I'd go for the pretty one.
Every time.
Why is that?
Perhaps I subconsciously think that a lot of effort spent on the outside indicates a lot of effort invested in the gift on the inside, but of course that's not necessarily the case.
In my last post I dissected our "D" memory verse:
"Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful." ~ Colossians 4:2
typed from memory :)
I think our "E" verse could run right into it:
"Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
BECAUSE
"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." ~ James 1:17
also typed from memory :) - still there from the summer when I memorized James. Woo Hoo!
This verse is a great reminder because, unfortunately, not every gift from God seems good or perfect. I received the story below in a forwarded email last week. (I didn't write it, and unfortunately I don't know who to credit.) I'm sharing it with you because I think it speaks to our perception of God's gifts.
Me (in a tizzy): God, can I ask you something?
GOD: Sure.
Me (frustrated): Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
GOD: What do you mean?
Me: Well I woke up late,
GOD: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start,
GOD: Okay....
Me (growling): At lunch, they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait
GOD: Hmmmm..
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call
GOD: All right
Me (loudly): And to top it all off, when I got home, I just wanted to soak
my feet in my foot massage and relax, but it wouldn't work. Nothing went
right today! Why did you do that?
GOD: Sure.
Me (frustrated): Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
GOD: What do you mean?
Me: Well I woke up late,
GOD: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start,
GOD: Okay....
Me (growling): At lunch, they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait
GOD: Hmmmm..
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call
GOD: All right
Me (loudly): And to top it all off, when I got home, I just wanted to soak
my feet in my foot massage and relax, but it wouldn't work. Nothing went
right today! Why did you do that?
[This is me interjecting here] Can you relate? Just this week I had one of those days where I just couldn't win for losing. By noon I was ready to call it a day and start over!
GOD: Well let me see..... the death angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me (humbled): Oh...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that might have hit you if you were on the road
Me (ashamed): ............
GOD: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have. I knew you couldn't afford to miss work
Me (embarrassed): Oh.....
GOD: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give a false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered
Me (softly): I see God
GOD: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God.
GOD: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.........in all things, the good and the bad
Me: I WILL trust you God
GOD: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
GOD: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I love looking after my children.
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask
him! ~ Matthew 7:11
God loves us and wants what's best for us. Sometimes what is best comes in a beautiful package we immediately recognize as a gift, but there are other times when it doesn't appear to be a gift at all.
I struggled with constant pain for well over a decade, and for a long time I didn't have one good thing to say about it. Now I can look back and see that time as a gift, because those difficulties drove me to God. I know I wouldn't have the close relationship with Him that I do if I had been allowed to go my merry way. He knew He needed to remove just about everything from my life to get me to focus on Him. It's not something I'd care to go through again, but I'm thankful now that God didn't give me what I wanted but instead gave me what He knew I needed.
Will you join me in asking God for eyes to see His good and perfect gifts?
Lord, I thank you for always doing what's best for me. I'm so sorry for all the grumbling I've given You in return. Help me to be thankful for EVERY gift you give, especially those that don't seem so good to me at the time. When things don't seem to be going my way, help me remember that your plan for my day is ALWAYS better than my plan.
Lisa
And the winners of my first ever giveaway:
Jill received the Versability Versepack
and
Phis received the Versability Versebook
Congratulations Ladies!
Hmmm...Maybe I should start wrapping my gifts in a brown paper sack?!! I'll work on my grumblings too...
Jill
excellent post! and full of Truth!! sometimes what we think is the best really isn't and what we don't see as the best, really is! God is good!! thanks for sharing this!
loved reading this :)