October 2, 2026
A few weekends ago, my grandson spent the day with us. My son has two girls and our only grandson, Camden, who is seven. My daughter has four girls, so to say Camden is a little “special” being the only boy is an understatement. He is the “king” around all those girls.
Just for background information, all these kids love snacks. I don’t know how they can eat so many or where they put them. Camden had lunch at my house, and before and after lunch he had no less than six snacks.
Around 5:00 he came and crawled up in my lap and said, “I want to ask you something but I know what you will say.” I immediately knew he was going to ask me for another snack. I encouraged him to go ahead and ask and of course he did request another snack. I asked him what he wanted and his answer was an “ice cream sandwich.”
It was close to dinner time and because I was making the best decision for him I said no. I did offer him something else such as fruit, applesauce, or a more “healthy” choice. He took the applesauce and seemed just fine because really all he wanted was a snack.
I made the best decision for him on the request he had made of me. It struck me that maybe that is how God feels with me sometimes.
God knows what I am going to ask before I even utter a word, but for some reason, at times, I act like He doesn’t have a clue. I can figurately crawl up in His lap and actually in my mind think I am requesting something that is going to take God by surprise. Wrong!
God knows exactly what I am thinking and actually about to say, but God also knows exactly what I need and what is best for me. Sometimes, I can get upset or frustrated when I don’t receive the answer or the provision that I think I needed. But God knows best!
Inevitably, when I look back at the decision I might have been frustrated over I can see where God knew exactly what I needed and what would be best. If I am being honest, if Camden had pressed me on the desire to have an ice cream sandwich I might (probably) have eventually given in and let him have it.
In the same manner, we have free will and we can sometimes “ignore” God’s direction and choose our own. It’s not what is best for us, but the desire to have what we want outweighs God’s direction in our life.
I have been there and done that. Please say I am not the only one! I can hear myself over the years saying to my children, “Don’t settle,” meaning don’t make a decision out of fear, peer pressure, time restraints, or emotions. It also means don’t settle for what you think you need.
When we “settle” we can miss God’s best. We limit God.
One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Don’t limit God, don’t settle, and don’t take things into your own hands. He knows what is best and can do greater things beyond what I could even envision.
Where I might see impossibilities, God has limitless possibilities. Where I might see fear, God wants me to have faith. Where I might have low expectations, God has no limits and wants to enlarge my expectations. God knows what is best!
To see God’s best we have to totally give God the space and freedom to move. To do this we must be in His Word and seeking His direction.
I can look back and see times in my life where I have totally trusted God in big decisions and really the outcome was more than I could ever have thought or imagined. In the same way, sadly, I can look back and see times in my life when I took control and I might have missed God’s best.
God has the entire puzzle of my life and I just have pieces. I need to trust Him to be able to position my pieces in the right places!
Now, just so you know, Camden got his ice cream sandwich but it was after supper. He didn’t get it when he requested it because it wasn’t the best time. He patiently waited and received the reward of an ice cream sandwich.
Isn’t that what we all want? To patiently wait, listen to God, and receive what He wants us to have at the correct time. God knows what is best!
I am so much like Camden. I would much rather have the ice cream sandwich when I want it. But I will gladly eat applesauce if God says that is what is best. Who knows? If I patiently wait and seek God, He might just give me an ice cream sundae which is far better than the ice cream sandwich I was asking for. God knows best!
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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