Living With an All-You-Can-Eat Mindset
What happened to all those all-you-can-eat buffets like Furr’s, Ryan’s and Golden Corral? Those cafeteria-style restaurants were where we could indulge in every variety and choice of meats, veggies, salads, and desserts.
The answer to my question came when I googled. Many all-you-can-eat chains found out that feasting customers ate their restaurants out of business. And, with so many who are health-conscious, the all-you-can-eat restaurants started to dwindle away.
But, I enjoyed the whole notion of paying a nominal price for any and everything that laid before me. The whole thing was ours for the taking. We could go back as many times as we wanted – even if we only ate one bite of any one item. And, this thought reminded me AGAIN of an old gospel song, “Come and Dine”, written in 1907 by Charles B. Widmeyer:
Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”.
With His manna He does feed
And supplies our every need:
Oh, it’s sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!
Refrain:
“Come and dine,” the Master calls us, “Come and dine”.
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He Who fed the multitudes, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calls us now, “Come and dine.”
Those “going home to be with Jesus” songs are sure coming in these final days of having Mom Lydia on this side of heaven with us. She is so ready for that “Come and Dine” meal awaiting her.
Somehow, I think the words, “table spread”, doesn’t mean a petite size portion. Since God’s storehouse is overflowing with abundance, why would we settle for a snack? GOD lays out a buffet line full of blessings. He gives us unconditional love, everlasting peace, and amazing grace,
Imagine the array of fruit trees that bore the most sumptuous, tasty fruit in the Garden of Eden. God said “No” to only one tree in the entire orchard. All the other trees were “Yes” options. Simple obedience was the nominal price for enjoying all the blessings God offered to Adam and Eve. And God offers us blessings untold for simple obedience, too!
God has a Blessing Buffet just waiting for us to enjoy. He makes it easy to love Him, draw close to Him and please Him. We forget that the very God who created this entire universe, Who holds the stars in place, and knows the exact number of hairs on our head, also knows our way. His favor rests on us as we seek after Him with our whole hearts. He holds the power to cause things to happen in just a moment that would take us years to do.
God will not allow any circumstance, or any person, hold us back from His blessing, favor, and purpose for our lives. We don’t have to worry because we belong to Him. He is more than able to turn the toughest, darkest times, around for good.
He will not waste our pain but will use the difficulty of what we walk through for our good, as well as bring blessing and freedom to others. His presence is with us. We can be assured in whatever we face, His plans for us are good.
I’m grabbing an extra plate on God’s all-you-can-eat table that is spread with more than enough to satisfy my hungry soul! How about you?