Getting What We Ask For

[knowjesus_knowlove]

A man asked his wife, "What would you most like for your birthday?"
She said, "I'd love to be ten again."
On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and
off they went to a theme park. He put her on every ride in the park --
the Death Slide, The Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear. Everything
there was, she rode. She staggered out of the theme park five hours
later, her head reeling and her stomach upside down.
Into McDonalds they went, where she was given a Double Big Mac
with extra fries and a strawberry shake. Then off to a theater to see
Star Wars--more burgers, popcorn, cola and sweets. At last she
staggered home with her husband and collapsed into bed.
Her husband leaned over and asked, "Well, dear, what was it like
being ten again?"
One eye opened and she groaned, "Actually, I meant dress size."



That story reminds me of what happened to James and John. They
came to Jesus with a request. Jesus said, "What do you want Me to
do for you?" (Mark 10:36).
"They said to Him, 'Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right
hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.'" (Mark 10:37)
Jesus told them they really didn't know what they were asking for.
He asked them, "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38)
Their response? "Of course!" However, what they had in mind
(prestige, power and glory) wasn't the same thing Jesus had in mind
(persecution, suffering and servanthood). Jesus gave them exactly
what they asked for, but it wasn't at all what they were hoping for
when they made the request!
So often, the same thing happens in my life. God has a way of
answering my requests, my prayers, in ways I never even dreamed
of -- not always in a pleasant way, not always in a way I would have
chosen, but always in a way that He sees best.



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