I Don't Love You, God, Because You Don't Give Me What I Want by Gail Purath

We were on furlough from Budapest, and my first granddaughter Emma was about 3 years old. Because I saw her so rarely, I couldn’t resist buying her little presents whenever we went out.

One evening Emma went to the grocery store with me, and she started asking me to buy her things. But since it was close to supper, I kept saying 'no.'

Finally, she looked up at me and said, “I don’t love you, Grammy, cause you won’t buy me anything.”


I bent down to her level, looked her in the eye, and said, “Emma, Grammy always loves you, even when I don't give you everything you want.”

Emma was silent for the next few aisles. Then she tugged on my hand and said, “I love you too, Grammy.”

This is sometimes a picture of my relationship with God.

Sometimes I’m like a child who doesn’t know what’s best for her. I fail to grasp the truth that everything God gives and everything He withholds is motivated by His deep love for me and His wisdom and knowledge of the big picture of my life.

Today (Thanksgiving) is a holiday started by a group of people who had experienced religious persecution, death of close family members, lack of food, and many other hardships, yet they recognized they served a generous God! And they set aside a day to honor and thank Him.

Let's take time today to thank God for His many blessings. And let's thank Him for the things He withholds from us as well.   But most of all, let's thank Him for bending down to tell us He loves us, no matter what.

Let's make Thanksgiving a time to tug God's hand and tell Him that we also love Him, no matter what.
" Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)

Gail authors Bible Love Notes, a site devoted to one-minute devotions for women.
to see the site click HERE. To subscribe, click HERE.  Read Gail's Bio here.