Delight turned to disappointment before my eyes. On my slow, back-road drive yesterday, I noticed a huge black bird perched high in the branches of a pine tree. After spying his road kill dinner lying in the road, he spread his wings and swooped down to land right in front of it. But instead of a satisfying meal, all he got was a belly full of disappointment. His much-anticipated morsel was nothing more than a tough old piece of tire rubber. He pecked at it repeatedly in angry disbelief, as if to say, “I can’t believe it!”

Disappointment isn’t only for the birds. In a broken world, we humans often end up saying, “I can’t believe it,” too. I can’t believe they fired me. I can’t believe he’d destroy our marriage. I can’t believe it’s cancer. Sometimes life sticks us with old tire rubber, too.

But what I didn’t tell you about that bird is that he lives in a place of abundance, a large wooded area I pass daily where his next meal is never more than a swoop or two away. Oh, the next meal may not come in exactly the form he wants. He may get rabbit instead of squirrel, but God always has the right thing prepared for him.

The same is true for us. If we’ve chosen to follow Jesus as Savior, we live in a place of abundance, too. He always has the right thing prepared for us. God does provide faithfully for His children. The next job may not be exactly what we envisioned. The marriage may have to undergo counseling and transformation. And even if the cancer is unbeatable, God promises His children the perfect joy of heaven. There’s no doubt about it. We live in a broken world. Sometimes it’s rabbit instead of squirrel. But even if God’s only provision in a moment of trial is His Presence, it is — after all — the Presence of the God who loved us enough to die for us so that we might be with Him forever. We can trust Him when He says, “My grace is sufficient.”

The next time you find yourself stuck with tire rubber, I hope you are filled to overflowing with His Presence!

VERSES TO PONDER…

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  Matthew 10:29-31

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?  Matthew 7:9-11

And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
1 Peter 5:10