In The Back of the Pantry

W

hen the final bell rang, everybody poured into the hallways, dashed to their lockers, and darted out of the school building as quickly as possible.  After all, there were important things to do now that classes were over for the day.  There were jobs to go to, sports to practice, television programs to watch, and snacks to be eaten. This latter activity was my personal favorite and I did my best to stick to my daily routine of having a snack after school.

As soon as I came in the house, I dropped my books and headed for my favorite hangout, the pantry.  Our pantry was wonderful.  All during the summer, mom had canned vegetables and there was a veritable smorgasbord of things to eat.  There were tomatoes, pickled beets, green beans, and pickles, both dill and sweet.  It wasn’t uncommon for me to eat an entire quart jar of pickles before supper along with a pack of saltine crackers.  I loved them.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I am an equal opportunity snacker, and I always made sure that all the pantry shelves got equal attention.

But mom’s pickles were just the best!  At first, I had no problem locating the jars of pickles.  They were on the third shelf over to the left with the dill pickles against the wall and the sweet pickles toward the middle of the shelf.  However, as time went on and the stock of pickles began to dwindle, locating a jar became more and more of a challenge.  Sometimes I would be shoulder deep into the pantry, trying to get one of the few remaining jars off the shelf.  During those times, I wondered if searching that hard was really worth it. However, when I emerged with one of those quart Mason jars, all the effort was suddenly worthwhile.

Sometimes the Christian walk is just like our pantry at home. At times, it seems everything is easy to find and is so accessible to us.  Our prayers are answered, our quiet times with God are productive, and it seems there is always something to satisfy our hunger for the Lord.  However, there comes a time when we must work our faith harder, endure more hardships, and overcome more obstacles in order to maintain our walk with the God.  As long as things are within our grasp, we take them for granted and don’t appreciate them as much.  But when we must put forth more effort, the rewards are always better.  The pickles in the back of the pantry always tasted better than the ones in the front, perhaps because I had to make a concerted effort to get to them.

Psalm 34:10 provides a good perspective on this latter truth.  David tells us, “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” There are two great truths in this passage.  First, we will grow weak and hungry both in body and in spirit.  Life is hard and it has an uncanny way of throwing all kinds of obstacles in our way.  However, David continues by reminding us that those who seek the Lord will not want for any good thing. 

But do we really believe that?  After all, David was the king and could have what ever he wanted.  True, but after being selected, he went back to the sheep. Before coming to the throne, he had to kill a giant, and spend several years on the run, hiding in caves, because King Saul wanted to kill him.  David knew what it was like to be disappointed and to wonder if all the effort, if all the faith required, and if all the obstacles he faced were really worth it.  His answer is a definite yes!

Today, you may be wondering where God is.  Perhaps you feel he has abandoned you and left you out on a limb to fend for yourself.  I have felt this way myself and I can tell you that God is real and that he loves you.  Sometimes, though, we have to wade through the jars, and get shoulder deep into his word, in order to reach the blessings he has in the back of the pantry.  Don’t give up! God’s pantry is full of every good thing.  Just continue to trust, believe, and seek!