Wants and Beertenders

I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. - John‬ ‭14:13-14‬ ‭CEB‬‬

Teenage me read the above text literally. And you better believe I was ready to ask for whatever and anything - height, a computer, a girlfriend, clothes - I had a list. Part of my faith journey was reconciling my trust in Jesus as it relates to these verses. I grew up hearing pastors and televangelists encourage people to put this verse to the test for things like debt, jobs, and recovery from cancer to name a few. I imagine that some of us might be triggered by these verses. I can only speak from my own experience, but I wish someone had put a disclaimer on John 14:13-14 that would say: ‘kids - don’t try this at home.’ Cuz for real, I asked for a lot of things in Jesus’s name that I definitely did not get. Just me? Cool.

Don’t worry - me & Jesus are good. I know the life of faith is more than simply getting what you want. I’ve read James 4:1-3. I’ve reflected on the fact Jesus will not grant requests that are contrary to His will. These things have helped me overcome the reality that ‘whatever’ doesn’t really mean whatever and ‘anything’ doesn’t really mean anything in the above verses. But the revelation that made this a non-issue for my faith was, for me, a simple yet profound thought:

“I don’t know what I want!”

PAUSE

Working at the brewery, I can be scheduled to work some pretty intense shifts. (Picture it - life before Covid-19!) We’d have customers covering every inch of the bar and lines several layers of folks deep. Beer only pours so quickly and there’s only so much you can do in the up and down volume world of the service industry. So it always amazes me & my co-workers when someone who has been waiting in line for 10+ minutes finally gets to the front only to say, “oh wow I don’t know what I want? Give me a minute!” In the moment, I’m like, “what have you been doing for the last 10 minutes?” After the shift when I’ve regained some empathy, I remember that craft beer can be intimidating when you’ve only had domestic products most of your life. And we’ve all ordered something we thought was gonna be a great beverage only to be disappointed that we could not stomach that imperial stout our friends raved about. So I get it - when faced with the decision of more than a few options, asking for what we want can be equal to “is that your final answer”? No one in a crowded brewery wants to pay $6.50 for a beer they end up not liking. 

UNPAUSE

More than once, I have asked Jesus to make it possible for me to date certain women I’ve met in church. And clearly, Jesus (and those women) said no to all of those requests. As I look back, I am grateful for the mercy in Jesus’s no to me. There have been so many requests that the answer was no. So many prayers that were answered with a ‘not now, probably not ever.’ There were even prayers for loved ones to recover from terminal illnesses that clearly weren’t answered the way I wanted. Upon reflection, it’s painful and also helpful to admit that death can come from life, and sometimes no is the most loving thing Jesus could say to the ‘whatever and anything in my name’ prayers. 

Beth Moore said it once: “Jesus knows the desires underneath the desires.” My truth is that most of my requests were based on a ‘I’ll have what they got’ more than ‘this is really what I want’. And my testimony is that Jesus seems to always know when I’m about to order a beer that I’m not gonna like, if I could use the illustration. 

Again, PAUSE.

One of the greatest moments of a beertender's life is when a customer says, ‘I don’t know what I want, but I know what I like. What would you suggest?’ That frees us up to introduce you to the options, to listen to what has worked and to invite you to take one step toward a new kind of ale that could possibly cause you to disavow commercial beer for the rest of your life. We know that most of our customers don’t know what they want; and we love the chance to show you all that is available to you. And there’s nothing more disappointing than people ordering a basic beer when there’s an incredible Strong Golden or German Kolsch that could be the highlight of their day. In short, trust your beertender - we’re here to make your life better. 😁

UNPAUSE- again.

One thing I can’t ignore is that every no Jesus has ever given me has been less of a closed door - end of discussion, and more an invitation to a conversation that leads to the exceeding, abundant and above all I could ever ask or think. Every request we have is an opportunity to get closer to Jesus. And I would rather risk bringing all my crazy wants to One who loves me than miss out on all that’s available to me. It could very well be that Jesus knows the ‘desires underneath the desires’ in a way that we can’t even grasp. So bring all of your wants to Him and trust that He’s more invested in your hope and future than you’ll ever be.