BY DAWN REED
My beloved is a great cook. He stirs up delicious meals on a regular basis. In the kitchen, he is a free spirit, adding a dash of this and a pinch of that without measuring a thing. With his Bluetooth speaker connected to his iPhone, he chops, slices, and dices to the loud beat of Fleetwood Mac, Casting Crowns, The Eagles and many other artists.
In the kitchen, I am not a free spirit. I like a recipe with exact measurements. I like consistency where the dish turns out the same each time. I’m a pretty good cook, but I will admit that a few of my creations have had to be thrown in the creek.
Last weekend, my beloved was excited about a pot roast recipe he’d had swirling around in his head. He spoke of tomatoes, new potatoes and other things. I tried to picture it. His food is almost always tasty, but I’m not always gung-ho on some of his creative ideas. He mixes things I wouldn’t mix.
As he began to stir tomato paste in a cooker before he put in the roast, I wanted to take away some ingredients and give him suggestions. Tomato paste in a roast? Who would do that? He was adding lots of spices I’d never ever considered. Just before I spoke, I walked away. It wasn’t my recipe. I didn’t need to give him directions. I knew I could trust him; I just couldn’t wrap my mind around his method.
The roast was fabulous. To be honest, though I was skeptical and wanted to tell him what to do, it was better than any roast I have ever made. In my life. And I had leftovers the next day.
When God is cooking something up in our lives, He rarely follows the recipe we would choose. He adds a dash of this unexpected thing and a pinch of that surprising event. We may want to take the utensils from His hands and work in a familiar, measured way. We may want to tell Him exactly what we believe is best.
But if we can let Him do His work—what HE knows is best, He will create something wonderful in our regular, everyday lives.
In Exodus 16, we read that the newly freed Israelites were in the desert and hungry. Let’s say “hangry.”
The LORD saw them and had compassion on them. He had not delivered them from slavery to have them die of starvation. He met their needs in a completely unexpected way. With no local drive-thru or DoorDash available, He rained down bread from heaven. In the sweet way He works, the manna looked like frosted flakes and tasted like wafers made from honey. He provided it daily for 40 years!
Our Heavenly Father uses many ingredients He has already put in place: our personality, our past, our passions, occupation, location and possessions. When He gently folds them together, He makes something amazing.
In Isaiah 43:18-19, the LORD said, “Don’t dwell on the things of the past. Look, I am about to do something new…” Is God cooking up something new in your life? Do you want to take the recipe into your own hands and work in a more comfortable way? Let Him have space to work. He can be trusted.