Sometimes I trust my brain, sometimes I should not trust it. Just when I am positive I will remember something, I should know by now that is when I for sure will forget what I was positive I would remember. But, I seem to need to repeat learning this lesson over and over again. I should never criticize the Israelites. They frequently needed to learn and relearn and repeat their learning lessons time and time again. I really am no better than those chosen people who promised to obey God's plan for them. Shame on me for not learning from them and even more--from not learning from my own mistakes.
I have been trying to be more diligent about using things that are in my freezer. So recently I took something from the freezer. “Something” is the key word. I had placed a small plastic container in the freezer with a mystery "something" in it. I am sure that I did that knowing that I would remember what it was! The problem was—I didn't remember! Yes, I should have labeled it! But I hadn't and now I didn't remember. This is a lesson I seem to have trouble learning. Though, I can say it adds a note of surprise in my life! I could not immediately tell what mystery I had removed from the freezer so I had to wait for it to thaw. The next morning, I opened up the container and immediately knew the answer to the mystery—no longer frozen over ripe bananas! My husband had one word—cake! And I agreed. Somewhere I have a favorite banana cake recipe. But that day I had used up most of my tolerance for painful standing and walking. I wasn't in the mood to draw out my time in the kitchen any longer than necessary with looking so I did what others often do—I googled a recipe. What I found looked simple and easy and I went for it.
I measured my very liquid bananas. Hmmm, there didn't seem to be quite enough for the measurement in the recipe. So I peeled another unfrozen banana and a half that were getting to be very ripe and added them to the amount I had. I didn't want to mash or blend the extra ones so I just sliced them hoping that they were soft enough to mix in. They weren’t! I had some milk that needed to be used because it had soured—it was very very much past use by date. It was way beyond sour milk stage but I used it anyway.
I didn't want to have to clean up my mixer so I used a fork to mix up the batter. My banana measurement was now more than the recipe called for—oh well, a bit more shouldn't matter. Eggs are too expensive now so I only used one egg instead of two! I don't like measuring shortening, so I used oil. One recipe said to use baking soda, another said to use baking powder so I used both and heaped the measurement since I don't know how old those 2 items are and they might be old.
I like to limit the amount of sugar we eat, so I didn't put in the full amount. When I think of bananas, and they have never been a favorite of mine, I tend to think that they need a spice—nutmeg and maybe cinnamon—so I added those to the recipe. I put the ingredients in a bowl but not in the order that a good recipe following baker would do—mix the dry and mix the wet and then mix them all together! I definitely did not follow that rule. I still didn't want to get out the mixer—that would just mean I would have more to wash. I just took my fork and stirred and mixed everything all at once. My bowl was nearly overflowing and very hard to stir in so even though there were banana lumps and some flour lumps, I ended up hoping that it was mixed good enough! I put it all in pan and in the oven and was absolutely positive that I was way beyond the point of needing some sit-down time to rest my aching back and knees. But in my rush to sit down and recover, I forgot to look at the time. Noting the time is important so I could know when to know that it was done baking! Since I didn't note the time, that made me have to open the oven door several times to check and test to see if my cake was done! All cake making instructions tell you it is important to never open the oven door until the baking time is finished! Ooops!
I have often heard that baking is a science, that the recipes are a science with formulas that are precise and need to be followed for successful baking. You must follow the rules in order to have and end with a finished product that is good to eat and good to look at. One of the most frustrating experiences for a baker would be to have your cake fail to rise or have it fall in the oven. You spend time measuring, mixing, and juicing up your taste buds in anticipation only to have your hopes sink to the bottom of your pan. If you follow the recipe to the “T,” stay out of the kitchen while it’s baking, and allow the process to work as it should, you’ll probably have a good cake. However, if you over mix the ingredients, the cake will not rise properly. Or if you move around in the kitchen or open the oven door too much, the cake will surely fall as the lost heat messes with the rising. Those are cake making rules. Sooooo, what will I end up with—something good or inedible and ugly?
Do you have a favorite recipe? Perhaps it’s a family recipe, and the ingredients are a well-kept secret. The first time you prepared the dish you examined the recipe like a map to a hidden treasure, precisely measuring the amounts of each item. You knew the combination of the ingredients would result in something delicious. But only if you follow the recipe!
Like many, I often struggle to follow the recipe God has given me. I’ve spent time involved in various ministry activities with children, food, women, cleaning, outreach, and other positive things I have done for God, but I do not always save enough time with just Him. God is showing me that if I over mix my batter and keep doing too much, I will not rise to be what he has called me to be. The method and process are equally if not more important than the ingredients themselves. We often think that if we fill our time up with the right “things” then we've demonstrated to God our loyalty and commitment to Him and His word. We need to remember that the most important part of the process is to spend time with Him. You can fill your bowl up with good ingredients but if you don’t follow the process and set aside time for Him, you’re just over mixing. Ministry and good activities do not take the place of me spending time with God. They may supplement my growth, but they are not the source of my growth.
Maybe you’ve put all the right ingredients into the cake, mixed them up, and followed every direction to get this cake into the oven. We can follow all the right things to do in the recipe but just in a different way from the right way because God leads us in a different way than we thought was right. And even though you can see through the glass door of your oven, you just have to interrupt the process and open the door to take a peek. If you’re doing this you are opening the oven door and interrupting the baking process. You don’t have to take things into your own hands--meddle with the recipe—and open the door to see if the cake is going to turn out how you want it. God gives you a window on your oven door to look through in Psalm 37:4; “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give thee the desires of thine heart.” You don’t have to open the door and interrupt the process with meddling because you fear you won’t get what you want. All I need to do is delight myself in Him and as long as my desire aligns with His will, I get what I want. I, and you can delight in him by reading and studying his Word, connecting with Him through prayer, and worshipping him. Trust him as the recipe and process God has designed just for you will yield a beautiful cake. All I have to do is follow the recipe; my input really isn’t needed. Sometimes it’s hard because we want the cake NOW and can’t resist the peek, but we set ourselves up to fall. Is a half-baked or fallen cake still edible? Of course, but it’s not the desired result. Do you want to turn out your way or God’s way? Trust God’s process, get out of the kitchen, and let Him work. You will rise to a beautiful masterpiece and be pleased with the result!
In some ways, life is like a recipe. The difference is that there are no secret ingredients. It begins with a faith in Jesus. Peter gave us some ingredients for an even better, more fulfilling life in Christ. "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:5-11 ESV Here’s Peter's recipe for an effective and productive life:
Begin with a personal relationship with Jesus.
Add goodness and an equal amount of knowledge.
Stir in self-control and perseverance.
Combine with godliness and a pinch of mutual affection.
Mix thoroughly and bake with an abundance of love.
God does not expect us to become instantly perfect, but he tells us that we can “possess these qualities in increasing measure.” Growing in these areas because of our relationship with Jesus is the best recipe for a productive life.
As a lady stood at the kitchen counter measuring all the ingredients to make a pan of brownies recently, she recalled a story she once heard about a mother’s words of encouragement to her daughter, who was struggling with life’s disappointments. Sometimes we wonder, “What did I do deserve this?” or “Why did this have to happen in my life?”Perhaps you will find this story heartwarming, and one many can relate to in our own daily lives.
A daughter was telling her mother how everything is going wrong ~ she’s failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her, and her best friend is moving away. Since her mother was baking a cake she asked her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter replied, ‘Absolutely mom, I love your cake.’
‘Here, have some cooking oil,’ her mother offers.
‘Yuck’ says her daughter.
‘How about a couple of raw eggs?’
‘Gross, mom,’ replies her daughter.
‘Would you like some flour then or maybe a teaspoon of baking soda?’
‘Mom, those are all yucky!’
To which the mother replies, ‘Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves, but when they are all put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! Just as God works in the same way.’
We sometimes wonder why God allows us to go through sad and difficult times. But if we allow God to work out His plans for our lives then they always work for our good. We just have to trust Him! It is so easy for us to become discouraged and disheartened with life’s disappointments when things do not go the way we planned or when the unexpected seems so overwhelming we do not know what to do. However, we can always turn to God, who always has the recipe with answers for life’s challenges.
GOD'S RECIPE FOR LIFE
• 1 pinch of pain
• 1 1/4 cup of sorrow
• 1 1/2 tbs of loneliness
• 1/3 cup of disappointments
• 3 cups of forgiveness
• 4 cups of caring
• 5 cups of love
Chop up pain, sorrow, loneliness and disappointments in your heart, until there is peace. Then add forgiveness and carefully stir slowly until there is hope. Next add the 5 cups of love and let simmer until there is joy. It is recommended you have a bowl of this every morning.
You can cook up your own solutions, they will not hinder God’s plan, but they will often taste bitter. You may hurt yourself and others, you may suffer the consequences of your decisions to ignore God’s promises and commands. Return to God’s recipe for life. He can and he will fix your cooked-up solutions. Jacob fixed a meal and with that he purchased Esau’s birthright. He suffered the consequences for 20 years. You may be in the middle of cooking up some bad solutions in your life yourself, knowing God’s promises and commands yet disregarding them. Return to God’s recipe for life. No matter how bad you may think your situation is, you can always get back to God’s recipe. The good news is that God is not only the best chef, but He also knows how to turn bad recipes into great ones. He does that time and again in all our lives.
With God, nothing is impossible! He is always working all things together, good and bad, that happen in our lives. “He makes all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28). So, rather than asking, “God, why is this happening to me?” (Yup, even cancer!) Perhaps I need to try asking, “God, what can I learn from this experience so I can become more like Jesus—more caring, more encouraging, more compassionate?” For I know, I am always His and He is mine and that is a recipe for life that I savor every day.
A good cookbook tells us step-by-step how to prepare a great meal. Our Bible teaches us, step-by-step, how to live a life that is glorying to God. It teaches us how to act and how to make the best decisions. If we follow the book, then step-by-step, we learn how to live a life that creates an aroma for God.
The promises and commands of the Bible are the recipes of God for life. Yet, so often, we do not follow the cookbook of life. We cook up our own solutions. In many ways, our Christian life is like cooking. We know God gave us the perfect recipe book, the Bible, but we sometimes still chose to come up with our own cooked up ideas, instead of following the recipes given to us by God.
The banana cake was a very good cake and husband approved! Yay!! In spite of all the things I did wrong, it all worked out despite my rule breaking! In life, when we follow God, even though it looks wrong to us, it turns out right in the end but with God’s guidance.
God takes our messed-up recipe we follow for our life and makes it all work out!
Learn to Trust God with His recipe!