Dinner was delicious. But desert looked disturbing. My wife, Penny, is an excellent cook, so I and our dinner guests looked forward to the final dish of our home-cooked three-course meal.
She approached the table holding what you see in the photograph. We did a double-take. Was this food, or constructing material? She said, “Trust me – it will turn out fine.” A short while later the oven opened and the ‘aroma of life’ filled the room. Picture number two reveals the masterpiece that was luxury chocolate pudding.
Spoons dug in, stomach were filled, trust was vindicated. So often what appears unpromising turns out to hold hidden treasure. God works this way. He allows or causes ‘problems’ in our lives. Then we struggle to trust Him. We forget that the famine was the reason Israel survived and became a nation (Gen 42.5). We fail to remember that Nineveh was spared judgment because Jonah was thrown overboard (Jonah 1.15). I’m not one to deliberately chose starvation or drowning, and I’m guessing most of us feel the same way, but a question remains…..
If God has put or allowed such things in our lives, what is the outcome He desires from us? We are not in control of so many things – our health, our boss, our children, … the list goes on. But we can choose our reaction. Will it be one of trust? If God is the recipe-maker, He is cooking up something good.
Is something troubling you beyond what you feel is ‘fair’? Perhaps it’s part of the recipe. Let God do his cooking, and see what comes out of the oven.
Malcolm Cox
PS – here’s the recipe ….
