Better Than We Expect

How abundant are the good things
    that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
    on those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 31:19)

A few years back, I received a glimpse of God’s goodness in the mail. I had ordered two small blocks of gourmet cheese from an online store, but what showed up at my doorstep wasn’t two blocks; it was instead two boxes of the stuff—more than twenty-five pounds’ worth. When I called to tell the company what had happened, they said that food was non-returnable, so the extra cheese was mine to keep. And since the order was processed in error, they were refunding my original payment.

It might seem like a small thing, but at the time this happened, my wife, Laurin, was pregnant with our third child and, by order of her doctor, on a special diet that required her to eat foods rich in protein and calcium. In short, she needed to eat lots of cheese. Thanks to this shipping error, we wound up with a supply of high-quality cheddar that lasted the remainder of Laurin’s pregnancy.

It won’t do to compare God’s goodness with free food; that just seems silly. But as I filled our refrigerator with block upon block of organic cheese, I couldn’t help but think that this warehouse mistake was really God’s provision. More often than not, when life gets tough, I plan for the worst. If I’m honest, I don’t usually expect God to come through for me. Of course, I trust Him to save me, and I know He will triumph in the big things at the end of history; it’s just that I don’t often look for His help in my day-to-day challenges. But we serve a God who has goodness “stored up” for His children (Psalm 31:19). He stands ready to bless us abundantly—even with something as specific as an ample supply of dairy products.

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My latest book, The Ascent: A Devotional Adventure through the Book of Psalms is available now.