Disclaimer: For those who believe & worship the Lord God Jehovah, Creator of Heaven & Earth, and have accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, the Resurrected Savior.
A young mother and her son were in a small country grocery store. Upon entering the store, the Store-keeper noticed the small boy and how he held the door open for his mother. As they did their shopping, the child would eagerly help his mother by going to pick out fruits and vegetables, putting various things in the cart, pushing the cart while his mother pondered over prices. The little boy was also a well-behaved child; he never touched anything without his mother’s permission, he didn’t run all over the small store, and was answering “Yes Ma’am” or “No Ma’am” or “please” and “thank you”. When they finished, they approached the counter where the Store-keeper was. He was a very big man in stature, but he had a very friendly face and booming smile. As he rang up the groceries, he noticed the little boy eyeing his candy jar. After his mother paid for their groceries, the Store-keeper looked down at the little boy, smiled, and asked, “Son, would you like to have some candy?” The little boy was quite startled; he didn’t expect the Store-keeper to ask him, so he looked away. The Store-keeper gently asked again, “Would you like some candy?” The little boy looked uncertainly up at his mother, but again looked away without answering. The Store-keeper just smiled, took a piece of wax paper and uncapped the candy jar. With his huge hand, he scooped up a large amount of candy and told the child, “I watched you all while you and your mother were in my store. You are such a well-behaved child and always did what your mother told you. For that, you get a little reward. Hold out your hands, son”. The little boy was over-joyed as he held out his hands. There was so much candy that his hands could not hold it all, and the over-flow fell onto the counter. The Store-keeper put the left over in a bag and gave it to the child. The little boy said, “Thank you” and he and his mother left the store.
When they got outside, his mother looked down at him and said, “Son, I don’t understand. You embarrassed me a little bit. Why didn’t you answer when the Store-keeper asked you if you wanted some candy?”
The little boy looked up at his mother and answered, “Momma, I’m sorry if I made you feel ashamed. I didn’t know the man was watching me while I was in the store. But when he told me how good I was and asked me if I wanted the candy, I knew he wanted me to have some. His hand was a lot bigger than my hands and I knew that if he gave me some candy, I’d get more than my hands could hold. I wasn’t being greedy, but Momma you always tell me, ‘Be good, do good, and a lot of good will come to you’. Isn’t that how it went back at the store?”
His mother smiled, and said, “Yes, child, that’s how it went”.
God’s hands are bigger than ours. His hands created Heaven, Earth, and all things in the Earth. His hands fearfully and marvelously created us. His hands hold the entire Universe. God is an awesome wonder, strong, powerful, mighty, and magnificent! While His hands are bigger than any problem we may have, His hands are also bigger than any blessing we could ever imagine for ourselves. God wants to bless us; we hear it all the time during a lot of “prosperity preaching”. But always remember that our blessings come from our obedience to God.
In this New Year, let us strive to be more obedient to God. Let us move when He tells us to and do what He tells us to, even when the command sounds too hard or too out-of-the-ordinary. Let us do what He commands us to do, not only for the blessings, but do so in the knowledge that His will be done in our lives and that is for our Spiritual growth and development. Remember, it is better to obey than sacrifice. And when we what God tells us to do, and do it with a willing Spirit, watch God pour out a blessing bigger than your hands could ever hold!
Happy New Year! May you be encouraged as you continue to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Deuteronomy 28
I Samuel 15
