I walked into the garage to grab something for dinner and quickly noticed the freezer door was ajar. The culprit was a frozen seal that kept the freezer from closing tightly. It had gone unnoticed. To my relief, I found the food inside still frozen except for the chicken closest to the door. Fortunately, the thawed meat was still very cold and well within the food safety range. How could God provide in my dilemma?
Happily, I found the chicken salvageable, but my heart sank as I realized the amount of chicken that would need to be prepared before refreezing. My evening plans had suddenly changed. At that moment, I heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit; “You can be upset by this and spend the evening cooking in a bad mood or you can make the best of it; either way it must be done.”
I adjusted my attitude as I hauled the meat into the kitchen. I turned the radio up with my favorite praise music and went to town singing and cooking. There was chicken on the stove top, chicken in the oven, and chicken on the grill. Around 9:30, it became obvious that it would be impossible to finish before bedtime. I was not looking forward to a rerun the following night. Was God still my Provider?
Again, the Holy Spirit interrupted my thoughts; “You know, you don’t have to do this alone. There are others that would appreciate the chicken.” My first thought was to drop some off at the rescue mission the following morning. “Isn’t there a family of five right across the street? Do you think they may enjoy some of that chicken?” the Holy Spirit asked quietly. I had to chuckle to myself for not thinking of them first. Of course, my wonderful neighbors would appreciate the chicken! I quickly called and left a message on the answering machine with an explanation of my day and the chicken offer that would soon expire.
The following morning, my neighbor called back, with excitement in her voice. She proceeded to tell me that they were experiencing a financially tight month, nothing extreme, but enough to feel the pressure. The night prior while she was pouring her heart out to God, she told Him she would be happy just to have a little extra chicken on hand.
God is such an awesome provider, not only did he provide the chicken that Kelly requested, he provided me with the peace and patience to deal with the evening. He even led me to find the freezer open before wasting a lot of food. Sometimes, I just want to give God a high-five!
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life. Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12 :22-26 (NIV)
My neighbor appropriately dubs this amazing story “The Chicken Testimony”, a story of God’s love and his wonderful provisions. Has God offered to bring order out of your chaos? He might not even need chickens to do so.