I was a making a birthday cake for a friend recently. Not just a boxed cake mix but a from-scratch specialty European version that I had never attempted before. I was following the directions to make the batter, but it was slightly different. So, I found myself questioning if I was doing it right. Then as I was mixing in the final ingredients it began to look like a batter should.
It struck me just then that although I didn’t know exactly where I was going with that one, there were some fundamentals about the process that I knew because I’ve made cakes from scratch before. Additionally, steps in that cake included a merengue and a homemade whipped cream. Recipes for both of those always include beating them until you get certain peaks. You want soft peaks or stiff peaks depending on what you’re making. There is no exact amount of time to get those. You have to know by looking when it’s right.
Practice and experience make a difference. My cake turned out well even though I had never made one like that before. There were parts of the process that I knew and could rely on even when I didn’t know how it was supposed to turn out.
Friends, life is so much like that. We have no idea what’s coming or what the final version of a step will look like, but we can rely on some basic knowledge learned along the way. We’re not supposed to know everything up front. As much as I like to know in advance so that I can prepare, that’s not how life works. It’s not how God works. If we knew how hard some of the steps are, we might not try.
As followers of Jesus, there are some principles that we can bank on when we don’t know what the outcome is supposed to look like. First, we have the Word of God at our disposal every day. Second, not only are we allowed to talk straight to God about anything and everything, He wants us to. Finally, God can be trusted.
If you’re going to bake something from scratch, you’re going to want to read the recipe and prepare first. The Bible is God’s recipe for life. We need to read it and prepare. When we read and study it regularly, we’re more equipped to face whatever life throws at us. We can better recognize what is from God and what are tricks from the enemy. When troubles come or we are presented with situations that have us stumped, we can turn to Scripture. Many of us are familiar with Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” but do we really take it to heart? Do we pour over it every day so that it can light our path? We should because it does.
Jesus prayed and so should we. If we’re confused; If we don’t understand; If we’re uncertain and need clarity; If we don’t like what we find; We can take it directly to God in prayer. We can’t hide anything from Him, so we don’t need to filter things for His benefit. We need to just honestly and sincerely go to Him. Are you mad at Him? Go ahead and tell Him. He can take it. Are you in need of something? Ask Him. He tells us over and over throughout Scripture that we are to go to Him in prayer and He will hear us. When we make prayer a habit, we get closer to God and know Him better. When we know Him better, we can better discern what He wants from and for us.
We don’t have to worry about how things will turn out because we know God can be trusted when we keep our faith in Him. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful.” It’s not the outcome that we need to focus on but rather who is in control of the outcome. The creator of a recipe has tried and tested it repeatedly. If we correctly follow their directions, it usually turns out fine. When we follow God, we don’t have to wonder. He always delivers.
Friends, I don’t know what my tomorrow will look like, much less yours. I don’t know what we’ll have to make out of the ingredients we’ve each been given. It doesn’t matter. If we make a habit of reading the Bible, prayer and trusting God then we’re going to better recognize when something is off. We’ll have the understanding and experience to discern what God is sending to us or asking of us versus what’s just going to make a mess and burn.
Father, I pray that you would increase our desire to know You and understand Your direction for our lives. Help us to pursue our relationship with You more than outcomes and what You can do for us. Amen.
