A Lesson From My Pantry

At 10 AM everyday we have snack time. This morning, however, the time got away from me and my littlest one reminded me that he was hungry. As I opened the pantry door, he ran over, grabbed a box of cereal and said "I want this."

The cereal is the only food in our pantry that Eli can see. Everything else is above his head.

Now first of all, we don't eat cereal for snacktime. And second, I had a really yummy snack brewing in my mind - a snack with a sweet little M&M surprise in it. My kids didn't know this. And so they were asking me for what they could see. But what I had in mind far exceeded their little hopes.

By now you probably see where I'm going with this.

Isn't this what we do as God's children? We see a 'need' and so we go to the pantry and look around at the shelf on the first level. It's what we can see. Sure there are some things on that shelf that would potentially solve our 'hunger' problems. Then we proceed to ask God for the things on that shelf because it's what we see with our eyes. And we assume it's best for us.

However, there are shelves and shelves and shelves and shelves far above our heads that go miles and miles up.  And those shelves are full of amazing blessings and gifts that far exceed our hopes and dreams. They are things that we could never imagine because our brains can't begin to fathom how wonderful they are.

So if we are praying and praying for something, and God hasn't answered our prayers in the ways we are asking, we can know that He has something on one of those shelves high up that you or I can't see or imagine.
Trust that He always gives us what is good and best for us. Psalm 84:11 says, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly". I love this verse. We can trust that if we have it, it's what's best. But if we don't have it, it's not what's best!
In His perfect timing, He will give us what we need. Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  All. Our. Needs. Also check our Matthew chapter 6...very good.
God loves to bless His children with what's good and perfect for us. James 1:17 says "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."  Many times what we ask for isn't whats good or perfect for us, it's just a temporary fix for our difficult circumstances.

I am so grateful for my pantry! What a great reminder God has given me from it! Just a few feet away I have this verse hanging on the wall...  "For My Thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways." This is the Lord's declaration. "For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Here are some other really awesome verses:
Provers 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight."

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20