A story is told of a man who promised his close friend a precious gift on his wedding day. The two had been friends for a long time, and there was no doubt that the promise would be fulfilled.
The man got busy thinking of the best gift to give to his friend. “I should give him a big load of gold, for he is the best friend I’ve ever had”, he thought to himself.
“But the man is already wealthy, and more gold would not mean much to him.” He reasoned out.
“Maybe I should give him horses and chariots. But he already has enough horses and chariots, and he doesn’t need any more.”
For days, the man scratched his head trying to know the perfect gift to offer his best friend.
After days of fruitless thinking, the man decided to seek advice.
He began by asking his high-ranking officer what gift to give to his best friend. The officer told him, “Give him a badge of gold. With a badge of gold, he will always put it on his clothes, and remember you all his days.”
Not fully convinced by the advice, the man decided to ask his slave girl what gift she would give if she were in his position.
“If I were in your position, I would offer to pay the salaries of all the servants of your friend for a year. That way, he would love you all his days.”
The man was still not convinced after hearing the advice of his slave girl.
In a desperate move, he took an evening walk in an isolated park to make the final decision.
While on his evening walk, he saw a beggar in the park walking from one person to another asking for food. He stopped to observe if anyone would give the beggar food.
Everyone turned the beggar away, no matter how much he pleaded.
The incident he witnessed disturbed him so much that he forgot about the dilemma he had.
When the wedding day came, he was still disturbed by the incident of the beggar that he had witnessed.
When it came time for him to offer his gift to his friend, he began narrating how he had struggled to come up with a good gift to give his friend. He told him, “I love you so much my friend, but for some reason, I could not settle on a gift to bring you.”
“However, I know someone so sure about what he wants, and is relentless in pleading with strangers to give it to him.” He continued.
“That man is a beggar in a park I walked in recently. I am ashamed that I could not decide what gift to buy you, yet the beggar knew exactly what he wanted.”
When God wants to lead you, He will strip you of everything. In your desperation, you will have clear direction.