"baking a cake!"
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14
Have you ever baked a cake?! I'm not talking about the kind where you throw in the powder, add some eggs, and call it done. But like a real, from scratch, homemade kind of cake?! Maybe its from a family recipe or the old copy of Betty Crocker you have on your kitchen counter. It's the kind of cake where you measure and mix in the perfect measurements of each ingredient. You add just enough of each thing. Toss in a pinch of this, a cup of that, until you have the absolutely perfect combination of everything! You stir everything together in the bowl, grease the pan, pour the mixture in, and then there is this moment where you put the pan in the oven and there's really nothing left for you to do but wait. The recipe and the cake are out of your hands at this point. You can only sit there as it cooks to become the perfect chocolate cake you've planned to make.
In that period of waiting, you have this moment where you kind of wonder if it will actually turn out as good as grandma's or like the picture in the cook book. You hope you put in just the right amount of everything. And that you didn't leave any important ingredient out.
I'm kind of an impatient person, so this waiting period can be a struggle for me. I'd like it if just instantly the cake was cooked and ready to bite into but that's the secret of baking, it takes time. Just like anything good in life, you have to be patient with your cake if you want it to turn out perfectly.
And sometimes you'll realize that your missing an ingredient, like the huge bottle of food coloring for red velvet or that you ran out of vanilla and you'll have to stop your baking and run to the store. Or the oven might stop working or you might not have preheated it to the right temperature. Maybe you'll pull out your cake and realize that you haven't cooked it long enough. All these things might set you back or make you mad or have you ready to throw in the towel. But if you believe in the recipe, you have to keep baking. That slice of cake will end up being worth it.
I've seen this very scenario play out in my life many times. Things set me back or I just don't have enough patience to wait for things to cook and I see myself ready to give up. But, when you believe in something strongly enough, you can't give up, no matter how many things stop you and no matter how long it takes.
My friends and I have been on a pretty significant journey to something we believed in. You could say that to us this was kind of like baking a cake. We could have so easily said "Forget this, it's too much work" or "It's too difficult". But ultimately we all believed in it so we kept pushing and fighting and praying. I'm not going to lie, we worked hard to make this cake we were baking. It took sweat and tears and more then one trip to the store for a missing ingredient. But we heard God's call in our hearts and that was enough to keep us willing to keep cooking.
When it was finally time to let go of everything we had stirred together and watch it bake together, I was anxious! But here's what I realized. I was never even in control of this recipe in the first place, God was. He knew exactly what ingredients needed to be added, how long they needed to be stirred, and just the right temperature to bake them at. He had the perfect plans for this cake and He knew exactly how it would turn out. Sometimes I think I'm in control of these things, but I'm certain after this weekend that I am not. He is.
You see we didn't end up with one of the most amazing slices of chocolate cake because we are talented bakers or because we knew the perfect recipe. We ended up with the perfect cake because we trusted God was building the perfect recipe. Because we were persistent in prayer. And because we fought against every set back and kept baking. This was really never our cake, it was God's and we were just minor ingredients in His master plan. And it might seem like that makes us insignificant really, but truthfully, I have never felt more powerful. At times it seems like one person alone can do so little. But if you make the recipe and forget an ingredient, the cake doesn't turn out right. We weren't the cake alone by any means, but we were part of the cake. And without us it could not have been the same. Each person there this weekend was a part of the cake, take one, add one, it wouldn't have been the same.
So we must trust, in our lives, that each ingredient, each set back, each second of waiting is exactly what God needs for the recipe He is building. Know that no matter how little you may feel sometimes, God has big plans for you. We might not always see it, but God is constantly adding us into His recipes, maybe by the cup or maybe with just a little dash. Don't underestimate your role in whatever He is planning. I've learned that truly, if you let God do the baking, the cake is going to be better then anything you are going to find in a recipe from Betty Crocker.
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14
Have you ever baked a cake?! I'm not talking about the kind where you throw in the powder, add some eggs, and call it done. But like a real, from scratch, homemade kind of cake?! Maybe its from a family recipe or the old copy of Betty Crocker you have on your kitchen counter. It's the kind of cake where you measure and mix in the perfect measurements of each ingredient. You add just enough of each thing. Toss in a pinch of this, a cup of that, until you have the absolutely perfect combination of everything! You stir everything together in the bowl, grease the pan, pour the mixture in, and then there is this moment where you put the pan in the oven and there's really nothing left for you to do but wait. The recipe and the cake are out of your hands at this point. You can only sit there as it cooks to become the perfect chocolate cake you've planned to make.
In that period of waiting, you have this moment where you kind of wonder if it will actually turn out as good as grandma's or like the picture in the cook book. You hope you put in just the right amount of everything. And that you didn't leave any important ingredient out.
I'm kind of an impatient person, so this waiting period can be a struggle for me. I'd like it if just instantly the cake was cooked and ready to bite into but that's the secret of baking, it takes time. Just like anything good in life, you have to be patient with your cake if you want it to turn out perfectly.
And sometimes you'll realize that your missing an ingredient, like the huge bottle of food coloring for red velvet or that you ran out of vanilla and you'll have to stop your baking and run to the store. Or the oven might stop working or you might not have preheated it to the right temperature. Maybe you'll pull out your cake and realize that you haven't cooked it long enough. All these things might set you back or make you mad or have you ready to throw in the towel. But if you believe in the recipe, you have to keep baking. That slice of cake will end up being worth it.
I've seen this very scenario play out in my life many times. Things set me back or I just don't have enough patience to wait for things to cook and I see myself ready to give up. But, when you believe in something strongly enough, you can't give up, no matter how many things stop you and no matter how long it takes.
My friends and I have been on a pretty significant journey to something we believed in. You could say that to us this was kind of like baking a cake. We could have so easily said "Forget this, it's too much work" or "It's too difficult". But ultimately we all believed in it so we kept pushing and fighting and praying. I'm not going to lie, we worked hard to make this cake we were baking. It took sweat and tears and more then one trip to the store for a missing ingredient. But we heard God's call in our hearts and that was enough to keep us willing to keep cooking.
When it was finally time to let go of everything we had stirred together and watch it bake together, I was anxious! But here's what I realized. I was never even in control of this recipe in the first place, God was. He knew exactly what ingredients needed to be added, how long they needed to be stirred, and just the right temperature to bake them at. He had the perfect plans for this cake and He knew exactly how it would turn out. Sometimes I think I'm in control of these things, but I'm certain after this weekend that I am not. He is.
You see we didn't end up with one of the most amazing slices of chocolate cake because we are talented bakers or because we knew the perfect recipe. We ended up with the perfect cake because we trusted God was building the perfect recipe. Because we were persistent in prayer. And because we fought against every set back and kept baking. This was really never our cake, it was God's and we were just minor ingredients in His master plan. And it might seem like that makes us insignificant really, but truthfully, I have never felt more powerful. At times it seems like one person alone can do so little. But if you make the recipe and forget an ingredient, the cake doesn't turn out right. We weren't the cake alone by any means, but we were part of the cake. And without us it could not have been the same. Each person there this weekend was a part of the cake, take one, add one, it wouldn't have been the same.
So we must trust, in our lives, that each ingredient, each set back, each second of waiting is exactly what God needs for the recipe He is building. Know that no matter how little you may feel sometimes, God has big plans for you. We might not always see it, but God is constantly adding us into His recipes, maybe by the cup or maybe with just a little dash. Don't underestimate your role in whatever He is planning. I've learned that truly, if you let God do the baking, the cake is going to be better then anything you are going to find in a recipe from Betty Crocker.
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