Macaroni & Cheeseland – A Response
March 7, 2004
Dear Friends,
Every week I receive e-mails from people responding to the messages from the Thought For the Week. It is the best part of the “job.” Some people respond with their own experiences or thoughts. Some people respond with words of encourage. On occasion, some respond with corrections or constructive criticism. All are appreciated and very encouraging to me.
I received one such letter this week from my very good friend, David Estey from the Schooley’s Mountain Ecclesia. Dave wrote in response to last week’s Thought entitled Macaroni & Cheeseland. Dave wrote:
“Very inspirational TFTW – I keep insisting that God should send me to macaroni and cheese land, or Grilled Cheese Sandwich land, because that’s all that I deserve – (actually much less – Garbage Land is really what I deserve) – and he insists that I go to Candyland in a first class
seat. No matter how much I argue with God that he is not punishing me enough for all the bad things I do and think, He keeps blessing me with things I never dreamed of – actually as I examine everything I have ever dreamed of having- he is giving me the desires of my heart. I look at my wife and children, then look out my window(s) and see his blessing all around me, and I have to rely on the fact that he has something in mind for my life that was much better than what I had in mind. I find this lesson- We need to have faith that God has placed us in our
present situations to mold us and make us grow – He is doing everything he can to write his law in our hearts and minds by extending his grace to us in whatever form that may be- blessings or trials, success or failure. When we realize that God loves us no matter what, we find energy to do his will and to love him back, by accepting our surroundings as part of his loving and caring plan in our lives.”
How true. What Dave describes above is the feeling I call “believing that God knows what He is doing.” Regardless of whether we feel ourselves unworthy of God’s love or perhaps unhappy with our circumstances, all of these thoughts have as their basis the belief that God has made a mistake. Yet God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, has called us out of this world and requested us to rejoice in whatever circumstances He throws our way. All too often it never seems to dawn on us to rejoice in success because we feel unworthy. Likewise, it never dawns on us to rejoice in failure because we feel it is a mistake or are receiving our just desserts. Hopefully when we do rejoice, as Dave describes above, it is because we realize that God is in control and knows what He is doing. As Dave likes to say, we have faith in God’s faithfulness.
How sad it is that so many people struggle through this world believing that their life is left up to chance or fate because there is no God. How sad are those who believe that there is a God but cannot feel His love. May God be with us all to know He is in control, that He has a plan for us and that He loves us.
Thank you for all of your notes. Keep them coming.
Have a great week!
Comments»
No comments yet.