God, Brussel Sprouts & Getting the Job

"Sometimes I feel like God just wants to make me eat my brussel sprouts," she confessed in the dimly lit coffeehouse. "But I don't want brussel sprouts! I want ice-cream! But I'm afraid that God won't let me have what I want and is only going to give me what's 'good' for me."

The disappointment rang in her voice, and it was a sentiment I understood clearly: The fear that God makes us stomach what we don't want, keeping our hearts desires out of reach, under the guise that it's 'good' for us.

Of course, in our minds we know this isn't true. We know that God is good and loving and kind and generous and merciful and gracious. But oftentimes our hearts deceive us and we fall into this trap of second-guessing God's character. For my friend, it was regarding the area of dating, and she expected that God wouldn't give her a mate who was funny and attractive and adventurous like she dreamed of, but one who was boring and balding. "Brussels sprouts."

I've found myself in this same quandary and had to fight away the temptation of expecting God to disappoint me with brussel sprouts when his Word encourages us that so long as we "...delight in the LORD, ... he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

For months, my husband and I had been searching for stable full-time jobs. And for months, we've been praying, and for months family and friends have been praying. And for months, nothing seemed to be materializing. Our prayers droned and stretched on, and I started to feel like it was consuming my life.

Then, when I received word that my freelance job, which had been sustaining us since we moved here, was expiring and I had an end date in hand, I started wondering, Is God going to yank the rug out from under us on this? Has he brought us this far just to disappoint us? Is he going to make us eat brussel sprouts?

Though our circumstances might have spelled that, I caught myself in this moment and decided then and there that no matter what happened, I would still praise God for what he was doing and for what he was yet to do. I determined to continue to pray for this need of ours and (do my darnedest) to look forward to the future with joy.

As the Scriptures proclaim, "joy comes in the morning."

After months of waiting, the prayers materialized and my husband got the job--just in the nick of time when we needed it! Not surprisingly, my fears were proved wrong and for nothing. The Lord reminded me, every so gently, that he does not heartlessly dish out brussel sprouts to sap joy from us but instead lavishes us with richer blessings than we deserve. "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)

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