I have a thing for Superman, and you have probably gathered that if you have read the post "God's Phone Booths". I have a plate at the house that I eat comfort food from. This is THE plate. Yes, I know what you are probably thinking. Yes, I know, and yet I still love you.
This is indeed how I roll my friend!
I want to use this plate to share something with you that has rocked my world in regards to my Paradigm of God allowed circumstances in my life.
When I was growing up my parents had a law in our house. The law was very plainly spelled out before each and every meal. I will reproduce the law in a bold type so that you may fully understand where I am coming from.
"YOU MUST CLEAN YOUR PLATE. ANY FOOD NOT EATEN TONIGHT, WILL BE EATEN FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW, AND EVERY MEAL FOLLOWING UNTIL IT IS CONSUMED"
Now I have to be honest here in saying that I HATED that law. I hated it because my mom liked to provide a healthy balanced meal that contained...green beans.
I HATE, no... I despise green beans. Mom made green beans one night, and on this particular evening I asked for a small portion. Mom gave me the full portion (Because there were children starving on the other side of the world... I would have given them my beans if I could have thrown that far)
I sat there during dinner absolutely dreading those warm beans sliding down my throat. Then, out of the blue, the most diabolical idea came to my mind! It came to me when I noticed my sister eating.
Everyone drops food from their mouth right?
Of course! I will drop a spoonful of beans at strategic intervals onto my lap, then carefully, toss said beans under each persons seat! This plan was foolproof.
Only if I had thought to drop beans under my own seat. How could I have overlooked this?
After dinner I readily volunteered to vacuum up the evidence, but while I went to get the vacuum my mother did not overlook my fatal mistake. She always caught everything!
Mom notified Dad, and Dad pronounced the sentence. Mom was to cook every can of beans in the house, and I was to eat them. I think that was the day that my hatred of all things bean formed within my heart.
Fast forward many years later I am sitting at the table of my future wife's parents. this is the first meal that I am eating with them. My future mother-in-law placed a plate in front of me, and my heart nearly dropped from my chest. GREEN BEANS. Steaming, and slimy. Staring up at me, and taunting me. I did not want to offend the parents of this beautiful girl, when suddenly out of the blue, the most diabolical plan came to me! I covered them with my napkin, and after dinner I personally cleared off my plate into the trash can. It was foolproof! Until my mother-in-law opened the trash can. Why is it that moms can catch everything?
What does this have to do with a spiritual truth?
Let me bring the plate back into your mind and present you with a prayer that very few people will ever in their life time have the courage enough to pray.
"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: " ~Proverbs 30:7-8
WOW! The prayer here is to remove vanity and lies, but then it goes even further and asks God to feed us only with food convenient for me.
Convenient is not what we think it is. When I think of convenient I think of fast food. Not God's definition though. The biblical word here is the word NECESSARY.
What this prayer does is place God in the driver seat.
May I submit to you today that God is the parent who knows exactly what we need nutritionally in order to grow up to be the adult (Image of Christ) He made us to be.
We all want pizza, chocolate, and Cheetos on our plate. These are the good times, and fun days. Every light is green, and every word spoken to us is exactly what we wanted when we wanted it. We have great health, and feel as though we can do no wrong.
We love to fill our plate with that food, but the truth is, it does nothing to help up mature in Christ.
The stuff we would rather not have on our plate is the _____________. (fill in the blank with your equivalent to green beans).
Health issues? Financial instability? Relationship difficulties? job? family issues? You name it. It is what the Bible calls purging. God allowed circumstances that cause us to stretch our faith.
See what happens when God places these things on our plate (For our good by the way. See Romans 8:28), We tend to throw those opportunities away. We push them off on others in blame, and in a sense we waste them. Sometimes we cover them up with a napkin so to speak. The napkin can come in the shape of distraction or even addiction. An addiction is anything we do intentionally that prevents us from living life as God intended us to live it. Some people cover up their green beans with work, relationships, drugs, alcohol, parties, TV, Internet, and a number of other options. It is a refusal to accept that God, our parent, is capable of providing us a balanced meal.
I love the reasoning behind this prayer.
"Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." ~Proverbs 30:9
There is a law that our heavenly parent has and it applies to every plate that is served up.
"YOU MUST CLEAN YOUR PLATE. ANY FOOD NOT EATEN TODAY, WILL BE EATEN FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW, AND EVERY MEAL FOLLOWING UNTIL IT IS CONSUMED"
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand."
~Psalms 37:23-24
Hiding the portion that we don't like does not get rid of it, it only causes it to get colder and colder.
We will continue to have to hide it or blame it on other people until we face up to the fact that it has been placed on our plate for us to consume. God loves us enough to provide for us exactly what we need to grow the way He wants us to grow.
Victory is only achieved when we learn to clean our plate!
It blows my mind to think of a parent (God ) that knows us to such an intimate detail that He would prepare food that is necessary for me individually.
Would you be willing today to step up to the plate God has prepared with this prayer?
"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: " ~Proverbs 30:7-8
It will change your life!
Climbing with you,
~Dan
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