Do you remember the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? There is a scene in the movie where spoiled child, Veruca Salt, wants a goose that lays golden eggs. She starts to sing about all the things she wants now,
“Gooses, geeses
I want my geese to lay gold eggs for easter
At least a hundred a day
And by the way, I want…”
She describes all she wants: feasts, sweets, parties, balloons. She is not just satisfied with those things, so she proclaims she wants: the whole world, today, tomorrow. She didn’t care how she got them, she wanted them NOW!
The scene ends with her standing on the machine that decides whether she is a good or bad egg. It decides she is bad and the scene ends with her going into the garbage dumpster, and Willie Wonka saying “that’s one bad egg.”
This is a gross exaggeration of wanting what we want and wanting it now, but there is some truth in it, or is it just me?
“The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.” Deuteronomy 7:22 NLT
When the Israelites were about to get to the promised land, the Lord told them that they wouldn’t be getting the whole land at once, but little by little. The reason? It was because the Lord knew they were not ready to work all the land, to inhabit their new home. They were not skilled enough, big enough, or strong enough to handle everything that is required right off the bat.
If you read in Joshua, you will see it took years for them to be fully equipped to conquer all the inhabitants/land they were promised. But when God saw they ready, He gave them more and more responsibilities; more and more land.
Aren’t we more like Veruca than we care to admit, or is just me? We want what we want, and we want it now. But in God’s grace, He doesn’t give us everything all at once, He only gives us what we are equipped to handle.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on our own desires and ambitions. Are we demanding too much too quickly, like Veruca Salt, or are we willing to trust in the gradual process that God has planned for us? Today, choose to embrace growth little by little, trusting that with each step, you’re being prepared for the greater things to come.
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