Every day God prepares for us a plate of experiences. Some days are “three cookie days.” Many are not. Sometimes our plate has nothing but vegetables, twenty-four hours of celery, carrots, and squash. Apparently God knows we need some strength, and though the portion may be hard to swallow, isn’t it for our own good? All are important, and all come from God. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.”
So the next time your plate has a portion you find hard to swallow, talk to God about it. Jesus did. In the garden of Gethsemane his Father handed him a cup of suffering so sour, so vile, that Jesus handed it back to heaven. “My Father,” he prayed, “if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
