The Tiger and the Bike

Bible Reading: Matthew 6:7-13

Dallas walked up the driveway, head down and shoulders slumped. Dad, who was working on the lawn mower, glanced up. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“Yes!” Dallas said. “You know that new bike the library was giving away for their summer reading contest? Well, somebody else won it. I can’t believe it. I prayed so hard, Dad! I really did! My bike is so old—I needed that new one. Why did God let somebody else win it?”

Before Dad could reply, Dallas’s little brother came bounding out of the house. “I saw a tiger on TV, and he was so cool! Can I have a tiger, Daddy?” Corbin asked.

Dallas rolled his eyes. “You can’t have a tiger, silly. A tiger is a wild animal. He’d eat you.”

“He would not!” Corbin replied, frowning at his brother. “I’m going to get one, and I’ll ride on his back and teach him lots of tricks. You’ll see!”

“You can’t have a tiger,” Dallas said.

“Yes, I can!”

Dad held up his hand for quiet. “Corbin, why don’t you go play in the backyard and just pretend you have a tiger?” Still scowling at his brother, Corbin left, and Dad turned to Dallas. “You’re older than Corbin, and you understand things better. You know lots of reasons why he shouldn’t have a tiger for a pet, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” said Dallas. “Tigers are dangerous, and they can’t live in people’s houses.”

“But Corbin doesn’t understand that. He just knows he wants a tiger,” said Dad. “Maybe that’s a little like God and you and the bike. You know you wanted that bike, but maybe God knows you winning a new bike isn’t what’s best. Perhaps He knows someone else needed that bike more than you, or that you’d learn and grow by saving money to buy one yourself. You don’t understand the reason, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t have one.”

Dallas sighed. “So I should trust God because He knows what’s best, just like Corbin should trust you?”

Dad nodded. “Remember how much God loves you—so much He sent His Son to die for you! Trust Him to always do what’s best, even when you don’t receive the answer you were hoping for.” – Karen E. Cogan

How About You?

Do you accept God’s answer to your prayers—even when it’s not the answer you would like? You may not always know or understand His reasons, but know He loves you and is working everything out for good, even when He tells you no. Trust Him to direct your life in the way He knows is best.

Today’s Key Verse: Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

God knows what’s best for you