Jesus Works at Taco Bell

"My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him."  Ps. 62:5

I vividly remember it.  It was Monday, March 19, 2012.  The previous month Gabe had been diagnosed with Autism, and I had begun the process to get him enrolled in the early childhood ESE program through the county.  We had agreed it best for Gabe to start school after spring break.

Spring break came and went in the blur it usually is as the wife of a CPA.  The week culminated in the breaking of a snow globe in Gabe's bedroom.  An item I had purchased for my oldest child's nursery, I had intended on passing it along to my firstborn grandchild.  As I picked up the broken pieces, the disappointment I felt seemed to unearth the deeper disappointment of life.  These cracked pieces weren't of some material possession but of hopes, dreams, and expectations that seemed to continually crumble.

That Monday while the kids were at school, I ran some errands and stopped at Taco Bell for lunch.  I placed my order, got my drink, and sat down to wait for my number to be called.  As I pondered the past week's events, I asked God to help me deal with my feelings of disappointment.  I specifically remember wondering how to deal with continual disappointment and yet have faith about the future.  I was thinking these thoughts when for some reason I happened to look down at my receipt where something remarkable caught my eye.  My cashier's name was Jesus.  Jesus!

In that moment, this is what was impressed upon me.

"Look at the way you went in and confidently placed your order.  Look at the way you got a drink to stay refreshed while you waited.  Look at the ease and carefree way you waited for your order.  Have you not confidently placed an order with Me as well?  Are you not refreshed and sustained by My Living Waters while you wait?  Why are you more anxious about receiving from Me than from man?  Were you even once worried you wouldn't get what you ordered for lunch?

Me: Thinking of Hannah and now of Gabe ... "But God, I didn't get what I ordered."

"What will you do if you don't get what you ordered for lunch?

Me:  "I'll show them my receipt.  What I ordered - what I paid for."

And then it clicked!  My receipt for Hannah and Gabe is the Cross, God's Word, the blood of Jesus!  In the Amplified Bible, Hebrews 11:1 tells us "faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the TITLE DEED) of things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality."   (Emphasis mine.)

At this point my eyes were filled with tears. I was hoping no one was noticing, and if they did, hopefully they would just think my food was extra spicy!

"You have been patiently accepting, but I need  you to be patiently expecting!"

Pondering the difference between the two, I realized patient acceptance might have walked out of Taco Bell had the order not been filled in a timely manner.  Patient acceptance might have taken whatever was handed to them and never questioned by way of proof of a receipt.

Conversely, patient expectancy knows the order will be filled, as ordered.  Patient expectancy rests in the proof of purchase! It knows what is rightfully his, and nothing short of leaving the building will stop the order from coming to pass.

What a revelation that day!  What a message about patiently accepting versus patiently expecting!  Yes, Jesus works at Taco Bell, (and I'm so glad he does!  I'm certain I wouldn't have received this message if my cashier's name had been Henry!) And the truth is Jesus can work anywhere!

My friend, has life handed you more disappointments than you care to count?  Do you wonder how to have expectant hope for the future in spite of having to accept all that has been dealt to you?  Be encouraged today!  Jesus is your hope!  He is a firm foundation!  He is a rock and fortress - a strong tower!  He is your shield and portion!  He is your Savior and Redeemer!  He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - the very King of Glory!  Rest in the proof of all He has purchased!  ( Ps. 103:1-2) Don't get weary about when you will collect on it.  His blood has sealed the deal!  The title deed is yours, and it is stamped "PAID IN FULL!"  Oh the faith we can have in His great grace and lavish love! 

"Whereas this One Christ, after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet." (Heb. 10:12-13)  Jesus is patiently expecting, and my friend, we are to patiently expect too.