Bitter or Better

My wife likes to bake when she has the time. I think it’s because she wants to fatten me up. Her favorite is probably coconut cake and mine is rum cake which is odd because I don’t like alcohol but for some reason, I like rum cake.

Watching her make cakes from scratch has made me appreciate that the individual ingredients for a cake don’t taste good on their own. Some of them are quite bitter. If you eat flour by itself, it doesn’t taste good. If you eat baking powder or raw egg or oil by itself, you’ll regret it. Even the vanilla by itself doesn’t taste good. But if you mix them all together and bake it, it’s delicious.

One of the greatest promises of the Bible is Romans 8:28: “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” (NLT). Notice it does not say everything is good. A quick look at the news headlines proves that isn’t true. And it doesn’t say this promise is for everyone, just those who love God. The way God works all things together for good is kind of like baking a cake. God can make the bitter, better.

In your life and in the world, there will be elements that are bitter and unpleasant. You might think, “That doesn’t taste good. I don’t like that change in my life. I don’t like what’s happening in the world today.” When you’re in a season of rapid and relentless change, and some things don’t taste very good, decide that you won’t become bitter by seeing only the negative in your circumstances. Even when nothing makes sense, you can trust God takes it all, the good and the bitter, and uses it for his good plan.

You can’t see it now, but you will taste its sweetness in heaven one day.