A Can of Soda

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

May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!-Ephesians 1:3, AMP

Let’s say that God gave you a small can of Coke, which just happens to be your favorite soda.  Would you be happy that it He gave you something so special, or would you complain that you did not get a big bottle of it?  If your best friend got an ice cream float from God, would that change your perspective of your gift?

God gives us gifts on a daily basis.  Whether it is a healthy social life—friends that will always be there for you and will help you grow—or a job that allows you to pay off your accumulating bills, God knows what gifts to give you for whatever situation you are facing.  He knows exactly what to give us based on our needs!

There are people out there who struggle with being content what they have.  There are things in my life for which I am grateful, such as my relationship status, my house, and my group of friends.  However, I also wonder why God did not bless me when I asked for a summer job or healing from the digestive issues that I have.  Instead of focusing on the fact that he answered my prayer for true godly friends, I worried about how I was going to pay for college.  I would enviously look at people who had successful jobs and little bills to pay, wondering why God blessed them and not me.

I know I talk a lot about being content with where God has you right now, but it is something that we always forget, especially in an age that expects and demands instant results.  For example, you may want to get married and have a family later in life, but the world expects you to sell yourself short and find someone now.  It is even harder to wait when your friends are all getting married, and your family members are asking when you are going to find that special someone.  God has a plan for you right now, and even if it does not directly relate to what you want to do in the future, it will help you grow in ways that you would never expect. 

One of my favorite parables in the Bible is the story of the workers in the vineyard.  A landowner hired people to work on his vineyard.  He promised to give them a denarius for the work that they were going to do; the workers happily agreed.  Throughout the day, more people asked for work, and the owner of the vineyard agreed to pay them as well.  At the end of the day, all the workers lined up to receive their money.  The landowner gave the people who had only worked for part of the day a denarius.  The workers who had worked all day excitedly approached the landowner for their pay, knowing that they deserved more money than the people who had worked a short period of time.  They expected to get much more, because they had done more work.  However, the landowner gave them all a denarius.  Those who had worked all day grumbled against the landowner; they told him that he was being unfair (Matthew 20:1-11).

“I am not being unfair to you, friend,” The landowner replied. “Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:13-15, NIV).  God says this to us today.  He promises to give us what we need.  We are content because we are getting something special.  However, when someone else comes along and gets the same gift—or worse, a better gift—we begin to grumble against God.  We quickly forget that God, the creator of the universe, the giver of life, the one who has the power to do anything, loves us so much that He has a plan for us and He intends to do anything and everything He can to give us the best.

For years, I was not content with my life.  I constantly wanted a boyfriend, and I would do anything and everything I could to make my crush like me.  When I would see my friends with their boyfriends I would wish that I had someone like that.  I missed the fact that God had given me great guy friends to enjoy.  I had spent so much time trying to make them my boyfriends that I did not take the time to appreciate how much they cared for me as friends. 

I have been learning that God’s bottle of soda for me is godly men who can be my friends.  I have gotten sick of dating (or trying to date) every nice guy that ever came into my life.  Now, I am enjoying my friends and not expecting anything more or anything less from them.  We have the time of our lives watching movies, going out, and having fun.  I am learning a lot about who I am in Christ and how to interact with others through these wonderful friends.  If God decides to bless me with a boyfriend later, I would be fine with that.  It will be what God has for me.  I am excited to accept any gift that the creator of the universe, the giver of life, the lover of my soul, has to offer me.

What is your bottle of soda?  Whatever God has for you, follow it with all of your heart.  Although you want a girlfriend, God might be calling you to be a friend to a group of girls that needs to know that they are loved.  Despite the fact that you want a well-paying job, God might decide to bless you financially in other ways.  Examine the gifts that God has given you, and be content with the fact that they are gifts from the one who can understand infinity!