The first week of the second semester has come and gone, and I think it was quite successful. I have conversations I needed to have, bonded with people I needed to bond with, and even opened up some schoolbooks and studied along the way! I don't think I could have asked God for more.
Which brings me to a topic that's been floating around in my head for the past few days: would God ever give you something you ask for, but that isn't necessarily what you're supposed to have?
(Bad Example Alert!): Let's say you need a car, and you're parents are going to buy it for you. You don't know what kind of car you're going to end up getting, but you have some specific things which you would appreciate your car to have, like a 5 star safety rating, top of the line seat belts, and the ability to drive well in snow.
You're out and about, waiting for the perfect car to come along, when you realize that a car has been right in front of you the whole time at the car dealership you often frequent, which has every single quality you expect, along with an awesome stereo system and heated front seats. This car is a bit pricey and you don't necessarily know if you deserve this car, so you don't even ask your parents for this one, because you're too afraid the final answer will be know. (but they VERY well know that you want this car.)
Anyway.... another car comes along and it seems pretty great. Reliable... durable... only problem is, it doesn't exactly match up to everything you wanted in a car. It still has a good safety rating, but it's 3.5 stars instead of 5. It doesn't have seatbelts in the back, but they're still intact in the driver and passenger sides. And the snow? well.... as long as you constantly check the amount of antifreeze in the engine (because there's a slight leak), it should still be fine. Whether or not it's a good car isn't the question, whether or not it's the right car for YOU is the issue at hand. You know your parents know what's best for you, and you therefore mention this car to them, as something you're interested in. Maybe you even beg for it.
A month later.... the car that doesn't meet your standards is sitting in your garage, while the other car that you actually secretly desired the most is still sitting at the car dealership.
Would God ever do this? What if the car "your parents" gave you isn't the one you'll end up driving?
Maybe this is more of a theological question, but any opinion on this I would be greatly interested in hearing about. I've never thought about it before. I know that God always supplies our
needs, but would He ever supply a
want, even if it's not something we're necessarily meant to have?
