It’s summer time, folks! And what does everyone LOVE in the summer??? Yooouuuu guessed it…ICE CREAM!!! Now, I can’t really have regular ice cream (I’m lactose intolerant). In case you didn’t know (which you probably didn’t), my latest food obsession is Halo Top ice cream! It’s amazing because I can eat the ENTIRE pint and it’s under 400 calories AND there is protein in it, so it’s healthy; and it doesn’t make me feel like crap after I eat it. My favorite is the birthday cake flavor; it even has sprinkles in it (TMI?). Now, these pints of ice cream generally run about $5, so I buy them when I can get them on sale. The photo you see, is actually of my freezer. This means they are now ON SALE (shush! I didn’t ask for your opinion of my obsession…LOL)!
And NO! This is NOT an ad or marketing scheme for Halo Top Creamery…in fact, they probably don’t even know that I stalk the frozen food section at Kroger waiting on them to go on sale (don’t judge me!). But rather, this is an opportunity for me to tell you just how much God cares about our requests. 🙂
So, I have an Instagram account (like most of you), and I also have a second account where I post many of the gluten free foods that I eat (I’m gluten intolerant). Yesterday, er…it’s late…I mean on Monday, I was scrolling and noticed that there was a giveaway by Halo Top and another food & beverage instagrammer. It was one of those, follow this person and that person, tag a friend and you’ve entered type deals. So, I followed the instructions to enter and simply said, “Lord, I’d love to win that ice cream.” Now, it wasn’t what I would call a “sincere and earnest” prayer. In fact, I said it quite casually, although I meant it, of course. I wanted the ice cream but it wasn’t an on your knees, cry out to God, type of moment. I went about my business and didn’t think about it again.
I got up on Tuesday…the 4th of July, and went about my day, cleaning and eating, and watching television with my nephew (he stayed the night at my house), when I noticed that I had been tagged in a post on Instagram. I went to check it out and found that I’d won the ice cream!!! Now, I’ll admit…I screamed a little (A LITTLE) from the extreme excitement! I mean…I WON…ICE CREAM!!!!
You’re over there waiting on that point, aren’t you??? Well…..here ya go…….
How often do we keep our “small” requests to ourselves because we don’t think that God has “time” to handle them? How often do we not pray about something that we deem small because we don’t want to make a big deal of things? You see, we always go with the, “don’t tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is!” route (which we should), we forget that He is the God of EVERYTHING! And when I say everything…I mean it. Many days, I ask God what I’m supposed to wear and He shows me (it saves time and frustration). There are even days when my hair is all over my head and I LITERALLY say, “Lord, can you PUH-LEEZE help me comb my hair?????” And you know what, those are the days when I don’t have to think about how it will turn out, I just get to combing and braiding or whatever, and it works out. I’m so serious.
God let me know that this was a precursor to things that I’ve already asked for, requested, prayed about, and cried about. He let me know, through this ice cream thing that, He hears me and He doesn’t take the desires of my heart lightly. There is just timing that goes along with the release of those things. It’s like a Facebook post I’d seen once, this guy explained his encounter at a restaurant and how his order took longer than the rest of his party. The waitress explained to him that he’d made a “special order” so it would take longer. The man then goes on to say that many of us have made “special orders” and requests before the Lord and He is making sure they’re just right. I agree, I KNOW I have a VERY special and VERY specific order back there in the kitchen for God to fill. The ice cream was an example…a preview, if you will. You see, that was a quick delivery; my other requests, well, God knows what they are and He proved to me that they are on their way…MY ORDER IS ON THE WAY! And I’m grateful because He owes me NOTHING but gives me all that could ever need! “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” (Ephesians 3:20)
When you trust God, He won’t allow you to be overlooked or forgotten. Honey….HE HEARD YOU (YES YOU)! And He’s gonna answer YOU…He’s ALREADY answered YOU (that one was for me too)!!! And as silly as it may seem, that ice cream let me know that God heard ME!!! Because He answered that prayer, in a matter of hours. He heard me….little ‘ol, coffee guzzlin, taco eatin, blogging, bratty, ME! He heard me…I just can’t say it enough…..HE HEARD ME!!!
I challenge you to trust God with the desires of your heart, no matter how minuscule they may seem to you. And you know what, when you allow Him to handle those things, it allows your faith to rise when you see them manifest. Trust Him to hear those “small” prayers that you think nobody hears. Trust Him with those little things that you think are too small for God to be bothered with. You know what I’m talkin about! And as you ak Him for the small things, continue to believe Him for the big things. Go ahead and ask Him for that “ice cream win”….He heard you! 😉
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalms 37:4)
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)
I’m going to bed…I gotta get up in a few hours (I’ll be having coffee for sure).
Love y’all,
Ms. A.M.White