Recently, a young man lived with us. He bought his own non-stick skillet for cooking because he didn't like my skillet. Not that there wasn't good reason. My skillet was promoted as non-stick, but it lied. We frequently scraped food off our "non-stick" skillet.
Once his skillet made its appearance, mine disappeared into the bottom drawer. His shiny red skillet was the one that lived on the stove top for easy access.
Then he left and took his shiny red pan with him, leaving us to our bigger but definitely not better pan. After scraping food off my own "non-stick" skillet, I headed to the store and purchased a skillet exactly like his. I was not tempted to choose a cheaper version, though there were several perky red ones on the shelf. Experience made me not trust what pretty packaging promoted. After cooking with his shiny red winner, I only wanted an exact representation.
Have you ever experienced that in a deeper sense or had higher expectations for a relationship than the other party involved? When that happens, it's natural to be skeptical with the whole trust issue.
When our spiritual trust meter takes a disappointing hit, we have a hard time believing in or trusting God. "Yeah, right!" we say. "This happened and now I'm supposed to trust someone I can't even see?" Perhaps hurt prevents you from drawing close to God. But if we open our hearts to know God, what we experience will be like the real, shiny red pan. When He manifests Himself to us, we will never desire a substitute again.
Maybe you've known God for a long time or maybe the idea of God and Jesus Christ being the same person is a revelation. If you read the gospels with an open heart, you will discover who Jesus is. Then you will know the exact truth about who God is and what He's done for you.
He's far more important to your life than a shiny red pan. Open up His book and read.
(Photo courtesy of morguefile and shebaduhkitty.)
(For more devotions, visit us at www.christiandevotions.us.)
Mary Pat Johns is currently a Bible teacher at Faith Family, a mega-church in Victoria, Texas. Her teaching venues include assignments for ladies’ Bible study and assisting her husband with their weekly Understanding God class. She also serves as an instructor for Destiny Bible Institute. A mother and grandmother, she lives with her husband and their miniature dachshund Ike, who runs the show.