Don't settle for second best

Off to the Lakes, car saying it needs petrol, offer small prize to first person who spots a petrol station. (small prize is, you don't have to push the car...). One spotted on the right. Difficult to turn across the traffic, then hard to get back out again. No matter, car fuelled. Drive over brow of hill, petrol station on left, easier and cheaper. Rats, should have waited 30 seconds....

God told Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. Waited years, still no kids. Go have sex with your wife's servant, create a natiuon who will continue to oppose you till the present day. Or, we're an apostle short, God has said we should have 12, let's hold a lottery... Oh, God seemed to have it covered with this guy called Paul...

Jesus, my friend is really sick, please come and pray for him. Why aren't you coming, why aren't you healing him? Jesus, he's dead - why didn't you come, don't you love us? Oh. He's alive.

I wonder how often our impatience to see God fuflill His promises leads us to accept what is second best? We look for a healing when God wants to show us resurrection power. We look for the small miracle when God wants the big...

Years ago we visited a museum in London with our young daughter. It was a hot day and we were all quite tired at the end. 'Can I have an ice-cream please' Of course says loving, generous Father. Except there aren't any. Walk for ages, no ice-cream sellers. Finally find a newsagent - still no ice-creams, but at least a lolly (popsickle for our American readers!). But it isn't what she wanted, isn't what she asked for, isn't what I had offered. So she holds it at arms length, taking one lick every couple of minutes. It starts to melt, dripping down her hand, her arm, onto her T-Shirt a real mess... At which point a wasp appears and it is much more interested in the lolly... starts buzzing round trying to land on the sugary goodness. Daughter in fear and and annoyance starts to wave looly around like some demented sword fight, wasp gets angrier. Loving Father says 'Throw it away, you dodn't want it in the first place, if you don't throw it away, you will get stung'. Daughter fights all the harder; thaty which she didn't ask for, that which she didn't want has now become the most treaured of possessions. Loving Father tries again. 'Trust me, drop it, throw it away, you don't want it and you will get hurt'. Daughter pauses, reflects then makes the agonising decision. To trust Dad or hold on to the lolly. A the wasp moves in for the sting, she lets go of the lolly and it slides to the grouond, quickly followed by the wasp. Daughter now distraught and messy, but un-stung. We walk round the corner and there, right in front of us is an ice-cream seller. Daughter transformed into happy, messy girl with the biggest ice-cream in the known universe.

As I handed her the ice-cream I felt God say to me 'That's just like you David. I know the desires of your heart, I long to give you the things that will fulfill and bring joy and gladness. But too often you have grasped at what is second best. You cling on to that which you didn't really want and which in the end will kill you. And because your hands are full of the things that will kill, you cannot receive from me the things that will bring life'.

I looked at the ice-cream. I looked at the messy child. I looked at her beaming, happy face. She had trusted her Dad.

So, we got to the Lakes. As we approached, the scenery was stunning. I pulled into the side of the road to take some photo's. Surely it couldn't get better than this. I grabbed hold of it, took pictures of it. Then we drove round the corner. Turned out that once more I had almost settled for second best.

What about you? What are you clinging onto that will kill, that is second best, that is stopping you from receiving God's best? Have you stopped short, waiting for a too small miracle? Hear again the Father's voice: 'Press in to the best, let go of second best. I love you way more than that'.