Story time!
I have recently taken the job as the Student Ministry Intern here at Northcrest! I am still thrilled and have received nothing but kindness and encouragement from our church. Anyway, I believe it was my second official Sunday when I got a message that was addressed to the staff. It was from Rob Smith, who had harvested some watermelons and told us to come grab one after the service was over as a thank-you gift!
So after service ended, I drove down to where his truck was and was told to pick a watermelon or two. As I stood and chatted before leaving, I noticed Mr. Rob kept addressing that there were two types of watermelons. He had one kind called “Jubilee,” which are the kinds that are found in normal grocery stores. Then he had another kind called “Charleston Gray” watermelons. He compared the two watermelons by saying that the Jubilee watermelons were picked more often for their pretty discoloration, but that the Charleston Gray watermelons were actually sweeter.
I didn’t really think much of it. I at first picked a Jubilee watermelon because they were like every other watermelon I’d ever eaten, and I tend to be a creature of habit. However, I ended up going home with one of each.
A few days later I finally cut into the watermelons. I cut the Charleston Gray first because I was intrigued that it could be sweeter than a regular Jubilee. I took a bite and my taste buds instantly burst with joy! It really was sweeter than any watermelon I had ever tasted before. That was when God revealed something to me.
How often do we as believers choose something that we think is better because it’s normal, or because it makes us comfortable? How often do we rely on our own knowledge rather than trust God? Follow me now. In that very moment I realized something that looked different, and something that I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with, was actually so much better. When we rely on ourselves, we are potentially missing something God is giving us that is so much sweeter. God’s plan never looks like what we think it will, but we can trust that it is good! Our timing is almost never His, but it is perfect! God’s ways are higher than our ways! When we trust God instead of ourselves, we will receive blessings that are so much sweeter than what we could possibly gain from ourselves!
I was standing in my kitchen as God revealed this to me, and every bite of watermelon that I ate reminded me of His goodness, provision, and promises. My message is simple… trust God.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)
Even when God’s plan isn’t conventional. Even when God’s plan looks different or makes you uncomfortable. Trust Him. More often than not, if you’re feeling uncomfortable because God is calling you to do something, you’re doing it right, my friend! Our God is not a God of ease and prosperity. He says that when we lean NOT on our own understanding that HE will make our paths straight. He doesn’t say that WE will make our own paths straight when we take the easy way out. He says that we will walk through trials and storms and he will not let the waves sweep over us. (Isaiah 43:2)
You can rest in the promises that what God has for you is so much better and sweeter when you put your hope and trust in Him.
Jubilee Watermelon:
Charleston Gray Watermelon: