When we go through a series of difficult circumstances,
We can start to wonder if God even wants good things for us.
We may conclude that we need to go through more hard times before God can use us,
And that he orders these painful experiences to refine us and make us grow.
Alternately,
We may decide God is not good after all,
Or that we are not worthy of his goodness.
None of these perspectives accurately reflect the God we meet in Scripture.
The Bible describes God as being even better than a loving human father who wants to give good gifts to his children.
When we have a hard time believing God's goodness,
We can lose sight of the blessings hiding behind the hard,
And we can miss how much he loves and cares for us.
Let's walk through a story inspired by passages in the Bible found in Matthew,
Ephesians,
And James.
You walk through the tall,
Heavy double doors to the castle,
Showing your invitation to a guard.
He nods at you as you cross the threshold.
You step into the entryway,
Look up at the vaulted dome ceiling,
And marvel at the intricate paintings and the craftsmanship that went into creating this place.
Approaching with open arms,
Jesus embraces you and welcomes you.
He thanks you for coming.
You are still surprised at the invitation and curious why you are here.
I want to show you something,
He murmurs,
And he turns and begins to ascend the staircase.
It is broad and inviting,
With a deep red carpet runner.
He looks over his shoulder to see if you are coming.
You begin to climb the stairs,
Running your fingers over the dark,
Wooden handrail.
At the landing,
You see hallways leading in different directions.
Jesus takes your hand and leads you to the right.
You can hear your footsteps echoing as your shoes tap the cobblestone floor and the sound bounces off the stone walls.
Candles flicker from arched alcoves,
Illuminating your path.
Jesus leads you down the hall to an ancient-looking door.
It has wrought iron hinges and a round iron door knob.
You look at Jesus with a question in your eyes,
And he points to the door,
Right about eye level.
Your eyes refocus and you see your name etched into the door in perfect cursive.
Your name.
You trace the characters with your fingertips.
Go ahead,
Open it,
He encourages.
The knob creaks as you turn it and you pull the door open toward you.
He gestures for you to enter.
You step into the room and into the beam of light shining down from the skylight and illuminating the dancing dust.
The room is lined with shelves from floor to ceiling.
The shelves are full of gift-wrapped packages.
Shiny cellophane,
Colorful papers,
And fluffy bows cover parcels of all shapes and sizes.
You are looking at a storeroom of gifts.
What is this for,
Lord,
You ask?
He is quiet for a moment,
Eyes shining.
Then you understand.
Your name is on the door.
And you see the checklist on the wall,
Pages of gifts you have received.
A beautiful sunrise,
A smile from a stranger,
An unexpected thank you note,
And last on the list,
An invitation to the castle.
You realize now just how high the ceiling is in the room.
There are countless gifts and you are a little overwhelmed.
Why,
You ask?
Why did you bring me here?
He pulls you into a hug and whispers in your ear,
Because I love you.
I have good gifts for you,
My child.
All of these are gifts from God.
I love you,
I have good gifts for you,
My child.
All of these are for me,
You exclaim.
There are more than I can count.
I have so much more in store for you,
More than you could ever ask or imagine.
You twirl around in circles,
Watching the shiny paper swirl around you.
Countless gifts just for you.
It is dizzying.
A lump claims your throat as you throw your arms around him and choke out.
Thanks,
Thanks for loving and blessing me.
I don't deserve it.
You're worth it,
He says,
And his eyes prove that he means it.
Child of God,
You are worth it.
God offers the very best gifts and he wants to bless you.
If circumstances make God's blessings seem far away,
Remember that God is with you and he is always working.
Ask him to take you to your own storeroom of gifts,
So you can see the good with your own eyes.
I invite you to read Matthew 7,
Verse 11.
Ephesians 3,
Verses 20 and 21.
And James 1,
17 in the Bible,
Where you can soak in the words that inspired this story.
