Recently I heard a true story about a daughter who called her dad from school to tell him that she had forgotten her peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch. The father told his little girl not to worry as he promised her that he would take care of the matter. Knowing that his daughter’s lunch period was not until noon he devised a plan to wait and deliver to her a Wendy’s chicken nugget and fries to replace her boring PB 'n' J.
When he arrived right when her lunch period began, instead of finding a grateful child he found a very upset one as she stormed up to him asking, “Dad where have you been? I waited all morning for you to show up”. The loving father then responded with: “I am here now, aren’t I? And it’s the exact time you need your lunch. Why did you doubt?” Then he pulled out the surprise. The daughter felt foolish knowing that she worried for naught.
I heard this account a few months back while we were still in the waiting room hoping for employment for my husband. This story helped me depict the truth behind the verse: 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Luke 11:13. In my heart I knew God was doing something behind the scenes for us, but the closer it came to our unemployment benefits ending the more concerned I became about a potential job.
However now I know that I worried for naught. Kirk officially began his new job on June 6th, just two days after our unemployment benefits ended. It was the exact time we needed it. Why did I ever doubt?
Why did God wait until the last minute to deliver? I don’t know for sure because my thoughts are not His thoughts. But one thing I do know is that God allows tests to come into our lives for the purpose of helping others. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4
So now that we are out of the waiting room, we want to minister to those who are still there. We understand that it can be a very lonely place. It’s a place where you can feel so isolated at times from the rest of the world. We feel your pain.
But one thing you must not do is to view the waiting room as a “time-out” for punishment. Rather, when you start to feel down look around the waiting room and find the hidden blessings that are there. Then, remember the story of the father who traded his daughter’s boring lunch into something more exciting. I believe that is exactly what our Heavenly Father wants to do for us. He wants to exchange our ordinary for something extraordinary. However, great gifts always take longer to prepare than good gifts.
In the meantime keep holding on…it’s worth the wait! If you don’t believe me just ask the daughter who got those chicken nuggets!!
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17 NIV
Founder and Director of Key Ministries located in Lexington South Carolina. You can reach us at keyministries@yahoo.com. .