Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wanted to whine or complain, but God comes through for you in a way that you end up recognizing how pitiful you really are? Let me give you a modern day parable to illustrate.
A man was delivering pizza, which he does to help make ends meet in a tough economy. As he prepares for his next delivery, he looks at a delivery ticket and sees that someone took an order that included 2 large iced teas. The man gets this little twinge, that likely shows on his face, as he knows the pizza place does not sell tea in closed containers, only in cups in the restraunt. Immediately he wants to know who in the world would be dumb enough to take such an order... obviously it was someone who doesn't deliver pizza... it had to be some sub-intelligent teenaged girl who pulls out her phone to text every free moment she gets... The delivery guy takes the order to the home of the customer and waits impatiently as the customer takes forever to get to the door. The door of the likely $200,000 house opens to reveal a middle aged woman in thick lounge pajamas. She pleasantly takes the pizza from his hands and tenders a check. She asks where her tea is and explains she has just had back surgery and does not have anything in the house to drink with the pizza. The pizza guy explains that he has no way to transport open cups in his vehicle, to which the customer responds "I need something to drink." With some sympathy for her situation, combined with more silent complaining of time involved and personal expense, the driver volunteers to go to a nearby grocery store to get the lady a jug of tea and a bag of ice at her request. He drives to the store a couple of miles away, complaining in his mind about the ignorance of the teenaged waitress that took the order, the personal expense he will be out and the additional time involved. He parks his truck at the store and gets out to head into the store. He notices something near his tire in the parking area and picks it up. He unfolds the wadded bills to realize that lying next to his tire was $8. He heads into the store and purchases the tea and ice with the realization that he was still able to pocket $3 by making this short trip. He heads back to the house of the customer and rings the doorbell. The wait, although likely as long as the first time, does not seem quite as bad... knowing she has just had back surgery and all... The lady smiles and hands the pizza guy an extra couple of dollars as she expresses her appreciation, then has the gall to say "God bless you." As the pizza guy heads back to his truck, he begins to realize what just happened.
2 Timothy 2:13
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.
God is in the business of blessing His children. Even when we, in our selfishness, want to whine and complain about personal injustices... God is faithful. He watches out for His own.
Matthew 7:11
The Message (MSG)
7-11"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
As in the parable above, God can take a situation that just seems like you've been dumped on and turn it around. He can bless you through it and allow you to bless others all at the same time. He is faithful.
Oh, by the way... the pizza guy was me last night.
Humbled,
Wendell
