Accepting Stones and Snakes

This past week it seems that God has been hammering in my brain that He loves me and He would not give me a stone instead of bread, and a snake instead of fish.

Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11 NASB

It's just that sometimes I feel like I am accepting stones and fish because that is all I am being offered. However, those thoughts are from the father of lies. Whether, I am deserving or not, God gives good gifts. Actually, none of us are truly deserving of His blessings as we all fall short of His glory. But, He gives them to us anyway. We choose, however, to accept what He presents to us or to reject His offerings. In addition, we must also be  discerning as the devil parades himself as an angel  of light, tricking us to hold on to his schemes, which traps us in a dark abyss. He offers us stones and snakes wrapped in alluring packages. Unfortunately, it seems that I, like many others, will easily accept the stone and snake, rather than the bread and fish.

You see, it is very much like the Israelites who were out of Egypt, but Egypt was not out of them. They were confined by a slavery mindset even though they were physically free. Regrettably, they did not accept the liberties God had given them and ran to idols instead of to Him when the going got tough. They relinquished their blessings and a whole generation died before they reached the Promised Land. They lived as if they were in prison, instead of the spacious place God had given them. They robbed themselves of His blessings through their thoughts and actions.

God has shown me these negative thought patterns in myself. I keep looking back like Lot's wife who turned to a pillar of salt after gazing on what she had left behind in Sodom and Gomorrah. This was not the salt of the earth that Jesus told us to be. Leaving the past behind and pressing forward to what lies ahead is very important as God makes all things new. We need to get rid of the old grave clothes, and but on the garments of praise that He offers us. I put my limitations on God when I think He will give me less than I desire, and I keep returning to past hurts in my mind and camping out there. Thankfully, the Lord is not limited by my limitations and often breaks through in my life in unexpected and pleasant ways, giving me more than I could ever imagine. I simply need to understand that God is willing to give me good gifts and joyfully accept them.

The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.  I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.  I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.  For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.  You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalms 16:5-11 NASB

I am going to take the bread and fish that God serves me, and I will taste and see that He is good. Jesus is my Bread of Life, who multiplies loaves and fish. He doesn't want me to live less than who He says I am and to refuse the blessings He is offering me. When I walk in the blessings He gives me, He gets the glory.