Alright everyone, we are entering the final week of our “Menu” series and I just want to recap what Week 1 and Week 2 were about. Week 1 we learned that people around us may not know what its like to have a relationship with God. It may be impossible to them, like trying to read a “Foreign” Restaurant menu. Words and symbols that have meanings but they have no clue what it means. We learned that…..
it’s difficult to ask for something when you don’t know what’s available…
How could someone know about a loving God if they did not know, His love is available to them?
Week 2 was all about the “Picture Menu” This is the menu that has some words we are uncertain about but for the most part we understand it. We learned that things CAN BE as good as they look and that…..
God wants you to have everything you didn’t know you wanted
God wants you to try new things. He wants you to pray for friends, he wants you to read your Bible more, and he wants you to trust him so he can give you everything you didn’t know you wanted.
So this week we are wrapping everything up with the …..”Expensive Menu”
Its amazing how some restaurants can charge around $60 dollars for an 8-oz Filet but other places can charge around $25….I mean REALLY!!!! Or how about charging $9 for a side of garlic mashed potatoes!!! That’s crazy right?! Megan and I went to Ruth’s Chris Steak house for our 10th anniversary this year! And I knew it was going to be a “little” expensive…Ok I flat out knew it was going to be expensive but I want it to be special because it was a very special occasion for us…..
Has anyone else ever been to an amazing restaurant for a special event, or celebration?
Its really cool when you get to have those opportunities to go places that are special. Memories are built, and shared through family and friends, and the time together is so valued. I mean you really never see a commercial of families eating at a fancy restaurant and they’re frowning or sad… They are usually laughing and smiling at one another! When you get that chance though to go somewhere special to be with special people you want to be able to hear this sentence….”Get whatever you want..” Get whatever you want, don’t worry about how much it costs just order it if you want it. I remember Megan mentioning crab stuffed mushrooms for an Appetizer. We had never been to Ruth’s Chris Steak house before and I wanted us to try what we really wanted and really take it all in…. And they were absolutely amazing! They also cost $13 dollars for four of these mushrooms. That is $3.25 per mushroom for you Math people. Normally, there would be no way I would even think of ordering four mushrooms for $13 dollars. That’s 2 big box meals at Taco Bell! However, it’s always fun to be able to order what you want.
Its fun when your parents say get what you want whenever you go out to eat though. It really is. But what about those times when you aren’t sure and you just have that indecisive look because you don’t know if you are able to get the “expensive” thing you want. The thing that costs more, than you think, you are allowed to have. The thing that just seems out of reach and you listen to yourself saying “I can’t have that.”
Unfortunately, I think everyone has had that feeling in some way. It may not have been about food at a fancy restaurant, but it may have been about a pair of shoes or a new baseball glove or a new phone. The feeling of really wanting something but also feeling that you were not good enough compared to that the cost of what you desired. Or maybe what you really want isn’t a thing. What you want, could possibly be a change. Maybe you desire to be free of an addiction, or you desire to be free of stress and anxiety. You may also want to feel happy or beautiful or you just want to feel like your loved.
Over the past few weeks we have had a revelation of what its like to have God in our lives. To talk to us, to be with us, and to love us! Some of us have had words spoken into us by people who are studying and seeking after God to deepen their relationship with Him. They have shared Gods love with others by prophetically speaking what God wants them to know. I hope you all understand more about how much God LOVES each and every one of you. Picture that love and then think on this verse:
1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all of your anxiety on Him because he cares for you
God wants all of our anxiety, he wants all our doubts, he wants all of our stress.
Why? Because he cares so much for us.
1 Peter 5:6-7 “So be content with who you are and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; HE IS MOST CAREFULL WITH YOU!
God did love us ALL enough to give us His only son. His perfect creation. He gave up His son for us.
His grace is sufficient for you even when you feel insufficient.
Even when you feel like you cant ask God for the thing on the menu you really want. That thing that you feel is too “expensive” or you don’t feel good enough for. That thing you say “ I cant have that.” He says you can, and he wants you to have that. “Get whatever you want. Don’t worry about the price because its already been paid for.” Don’t you think, your father in Heaven, who adores you so much, who cares for you so incredibly, prepared to make sure everything you wanted or asked for was covered for your special time together. God took care of the check a long time ago. God wants you to speak what you want. So that’s why in Matthew he says this
Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Each time you spend with God is a special occasion. He wants you to ask for everything you want when you’re together. He wants each moment to be a fond memory that you look back on. Every moment you take and spend with God is so special to HIM! If it feels good to get what you want in a special time , to order what we want no matter the cost, imagine how good God feels when we allow him to lavish us with what we want by asking for it. It pleases mothers and fathers to be able to give their children what they truly desire. So why wouldn’t it please God to do the same?
The Bible is the menu, so what’s the meal. Your everyday walk with your loving heavenly father. It’s what you take in when your with Him. It’s the time every day you take to enjoy God for who he is, like taking time to enjoy coffee with your best friend. It’s that special one on one time you have with Him.
And every time you take to spend with him, no matter how you feel, no matter how you see yourself, no matter what you’ve done wrong is SPECIAL to him.
Your accessibility to God and the menu is determined by your hunger not your emotions.
