How God Tricked Me Into Enjoying the Monster Truck Rally

I learned an important lesson in expecting God's goodness last weekend from the monster truck rally. Somehow before I fully appreciated what I was getting myself into I volunteered myself to sell peanuts at the monster truck rally. I told a friend I would do it in order to raise money for his ministry. Well afterwards I started thinking about what exactly I had volunteered to do. I envisioned myself having to hawk peanuts in the stands full of drunk people at a loud monster truck rally. I thought about how sick I had been all week and how I had no energy to haul peanuts up and down the stands. I thought about how repugnant the idea of a monster truck rally seemed.

Then I started to try and back out of the commitment with God. Unfortunately they had just enough people and I could not back out. Every time I prayed about it God said, "Please go to the monster truck rally." I was telling God that when I said I wanted to go on adventures with Him, I did not have a monster truck rally in mind.

I arrived at the monster truck rally to discover that my first apprehension was not a reality. I did not have to hawk peanuts in the stands. Rather I was going to sell candied almonds and pecans at a vendor's stand. I ended up at the club level with this energetic high school kid. I learned how to make the nuts and use the cash register. I scooped rather normal people ice cream. It was fun. I got to appreciate what it takes to run a small business. But most of all I just had fun with this goofy guy who talked non-stop and reminded me what it was like to be fun in high school. I remembered I WAS fun in high school. It was nice to feel fun.

I even liked watching the monster trucks. They flip over and it's pretty cool.

So at the end of the day I realized God got me. He tricked me into having a really fun time when I thought I would be miserable.

I realized that I really can trust God to give me good things. Lately He's been talking to me about having a "surprise." I have been fearful of this surprise, thinking that past life surprises have not been all that pleasant. But then I hear my friends tell their 3 year old that they have a surprise for him. It's never a shot at the doctor's office or nasty medicine. It's always something he'll like, such as a parachute man, or a popsicle, or a new water toy for the yard. So why would I expect less from my Daddy God? After the monster truck rally I decided to expect good things from God that I will enjoy, even if it appears like something that I might not immediately like.

Matthew 7: ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!