December 11, 2017
Exhausting the Best
Logan Wolfram
Today’s Truth
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him …(Psalms 103:11, ESV).
Friend to Friend
I stood on the back porch just waiting. I was making my family’s favorite pizza and the recipe calls for cooking the dough on the grill. Grilling makes the sticky mixture bubble up and crisp along the edges like it would in a wood-fired oven at a nice restaurant. You have to wait right beside the grill though, because if you walk off and leave, you’ll have a burnt mess of crust on your hands. So, I stood and waited by the smoke billowing out the sides of the grill, surveying the yard and deck around me.
“Lord, I love this house. I love this deck. I love these neighbors. I know you’re asking us to move to a different house, but I really, really love this one. I mean, I’ll do it…but still. I love it here.” I don’t know so much that I was arguing with God. I was maybe just asking Him to make greater sense of it all for now. Trying to get my mind around the complications of God calling us out of a situation that I love and into one that I think I will love just feels so nebulous.
I sighed and flipped the dough, closing the grill lid back over top of the puffy crust to wait some more.
“I mean Lord, I really love it here. I mean it’s pretty much my most favorite house ever. This other one is fine, but I’m already living in the very best house for me.” Maybe I was arguing a little bit at this point.
The short version of the story is that an opportunity arose for us to move to a home that borders several other close family friends. The new-to-us house sits in the middle of a neighborhood with loads of kids who are our boys’ ages. Along with a couple of other families, our plan is to create a common area mecca of sorts where all of our yards connect for our budding teenagers to easily hang out in safe and fun environments. In the end, we have felt the Lord tell us to give up a space we already love for creating community we believe is a win for our children’s future.
But I’ve argued with God about it a bit if I’m honest. There are parts of me that feel super excited for what we truly believe is best for our family. But selfishly, I love where we live now and know that leaving is going to be very hard. I told the contractor who is going to help us rid the new house of a 1952 powder blue toilet and asbestos tiled floors that I already live in my most dreamy house. I’ve held this next one more loosely, knowing that it can’t possibly be as good as where we are now. He says this other house will be my favorite when he is done with it, but I haven’t been so sure. With a handful of things I’ve already convinced myself will be annoying, I’ve felt that his assurance is a stretch.
I opened the lid of the grill again that day and as the smoke surged out and curled around my face, I heard a very clear voice in my spirit.
“You, my love, are just 39 years old. Do you really believe that I have already exhausted my best for you?”
I felt like I had been sucker punched. “Do you really believe that I have exhausted my best for you?” The words hit me in the face like a ton of bricks and illuminated the discontent I had allowed to dance in my mind. “No Lord. I don’t believe that. I know You are good. I do believe that Your best doesn’t run out. Your love is steadfast. You are good and I trust You.”
Let’s Pray
Father God, we know that You remind us in James 1:17 that every good and perfect gift is from you. Lord, give us the faith of even the size of a tiny mustard seed to continue to trust Your kindness and goodness over our lives. Whether we are in the midst of life when it feels it can’t possibly get worse, or in a season where we can’t imagine that Your best could be better, God we know You are always pouring out Your love over us. Your love doesn’t run out, Your best isn’t exhausted today with nothing left for tomorrow, and we trust God that even the steps ahead of us that we can’t imagine are wrapped in Your blessing for us. Father You are good, we love You, and are grateful for Your steadfast love that never runs out.
Now It’s Your
Even in the midst of what may seem good, can you believe that God’s best is still for you? God’s love is steadfast and His kindness is more than we can even fathom. In the bad, or in the good, can you trust that God won’t leave you, forsake you, or run out of His goodness for your life?
More from the Girlfriends
Logan Wolfram would give you full access to her pantry if you lived next door. She is a plate-juggling mom and interior decorator who desires to see women live fully in Christ. She is a National speaker and the author of Curious Faith; Rediscovering Hope in the God of Possibility. Logan and her husband, Jeremy, divide their time between wrangling two inquisitive boys, a 175-pound mastiff named Titan, and a little mutt named Sugar. They reside in Greenville, South Carolina. Connect more with Logan on her website www.LoganWolfram.com
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