Good Gifts
During Jesus’s sermon on the Mount, he taught the people about asking and receiving from the father. He encourages us to seek and find what we need, to knock so that doors can be opened unto us. Jesus said that everyone who seeks finds, those who knock will have the door answered and those who ask will receive. Jesus used the analogy of a son asking a father for a fish or for bread. He concluded that no good father would give his son a serpent instead of a fish or a stone instead of bread. This is assuming that most people would not want to eat a snake of course.
Jesus used this statement to point out, that in the same way that earthly fathers love their children enough, to give them good things, so does our Heavenly Father love us. We have to trust God enough to know that he will grant us the desires of our heart. I used to be afraid to pray for God to bless me with a husband. I thought that if I prayed this prayer, that God would want me to marry a nerd. I imagined that someone who was extremely religious, had no sense of style or had no sense of humour was who God would want for me. Why I had that idea makes no sense at all. There was something about my religious upbringing, which said that this was the model of a godly and a righteous man.
My ideas about God could not have been further from the truth. He is not a grumpy old man who wants to suck the fun out of everything. God wants us to have joy and peace and just because something does not fit into our conventional ideas about who He is, does not make it ungodly. I think that God is actually way cooler than we think and his ways are full of excitement and wonder. My last analogy is this. When you love someone, you want to understand their desires. You will make every effort to find out what they want to surprise them for their birthday for example. That’s just the way our father is. As long as it won’t hurt us or put us in danger of being held captive by the enemy, then God will meet our needs.
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
A.P.-Y.
Published by Anneta Pinto-Young
I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession.
Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm.
I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing.
I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.
View all posts by Anneta Pinto-Young
Published
November 25, 2021
