I truly think that God is in favour of ice cream.

Don’t believe me? Let me try to convince you.

In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were told that God would be bringing them into the Promised Land, a land “flowing with milk and honey.”

Well, milk is a dairy product, right? And honey is a sweetener. If you’ve got a dairy product and a sweetener, you’re halfway to ice cream right there. (To get all the way, see the recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream below.)

Too bad the ancient Israelites hadn’t invented freezers, or they could have enjoyed ice cream on the shores of the Mediterranean. Nothing tops eating refreshing ice cream on a sunny day at the beach, does it?

I’m being a bit tongue-in-cheek with this, of course, but I do believe there’s a lesson that we need to learn from God’s promise to the Israelites about a land flowing with milk and honey.

It shows us that God delights in giving His children good things.

But sometimes we may find this hard to believe.

When we go through difficulties or hardships, we can be tempted to blame God for our suffering. We might begin to believe that He doesn’t have our best interests in mind.

We can sometimes even think that God has it in for us, or that He’s deliberately withholding good things from us.

But that isn’t so.

Scripture tells us that God is like the wisest and most benevolent parent:

“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)

If there’s something you desire that God isn’t giving you, it’s because He knows it wouldn’t be best for you, or the timing isn’t right.

God may not always give you exactly what you want, but He’ll make sure you get what you truly need.

“For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” (Psalm 84:11)

“Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:10)

You may not get that Ferrari you’ve been pining for, but you can be sure God will unstintingly bestow on you truly good things like His presence and provision, His grace and guidance, and His love and forgiveness.

We may end up going through some very difficult times indeed. But even then, we can trust that God will eventually bring something good out of them.

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” (1 Peter 5:10)

And you just may find that God has some special gifts of renewal and restoration in store for you once you’ve pulled through your trials.

“He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” (Psalm 103:5)

Trust that God is good, and believe that He enjoys giving good things to those who love Him.

And I for one think that includes ice cream!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good.”

Psalm 34:8

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Not only is this ice cream heavenly on a hot day, it’s super-easy to make. You don’t need an ice cream maker to mix it, nor do you need to stir it several times during the freezing process. It’s more delicious than any store-bought ice cream: taste and see!

3 cups fresh strawberries.
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3 egg whites

Wash berries; remove caps. Purée berries in blender; set aside.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-coloured. Beat in sugar and whipping cream until soft peaks form. Stir in berries; set aside.

In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into berry mixture.

Pour into a 9-inch square pan. Cover with foil or plastic.

Place in freezer for 3 to 6 hours. Makes 2 quarts.

© 2021 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.