I like to bake bread. I'm not a great baker, but I'm good enough that people like eating my bread. I just finished baking a number of loaves that we will share with the folks who come to church this week. To be honest, I just make one kind of bread...French Bread. But when it is fresh and especially when it is hot, it really tastes good! When I start, I lay out everything that will go into making my loaves...flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water and raw eggs to give it a nice, shiny coat. There are times when I wonder what these ingredients taste like all by themselves, and so I've tasted each one of them. And except for the sugar, which wouldn't taste that good if you had to eat it all at once, none of these things taste very good on their own. But when they are all blended together the right way and subject to the correct heat for the right time...you get fresh, hot French Bread! I thought about that when it comes to our lives. We have things that we experience that are hard or discouraging or even distasteful. And then another one comes along and then another. And it seems like God is just not paying attention what is happening to us. And each one of these tastes like raw yeast or a tablespoon of salt. But God knows what is happening in yours and my lives. God doesn't cause all the bad things in your life to happen, but they have to pass through him before they get to us. So, what's the story? The Apostle Paul had a lot of bad things happen to him, but he saw what God was doing. He wrote the Roman church and said that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. They don't just work together for good; God causes them to work together for the good. And the promise isn't for everyone, but for those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. So, when the "distasteful" things in life happen to you, remember that God knows...but you let him know that you hurt, but that when you hurt or fear, you are going to choose to trust in him. And then play the long game and see what God does with all those things that individually felt like disasters. He takes them and works his will and way and causes good to come out of all that. So, hang in there, and remember that God has not forgotten you nor is deliberately ignoring you. He is taking the hard and the bad and "baking" something special into your life. Talk to him, tell him how you feel and then keep trusting him and see what he will do! Here's our Bible verse for today...
Romans 8:28 NLT And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Remember I'm praying for you!
With love, PJ
Romans 8:28 NLT And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Remember I'm praying for you!
With love, PJ