Familiar Things

There’s something very comforting about an old family recipes – or mama’s home cookin’, we might say.  There’s a simple recipe for a sweet and sour chicken my mother used to make that several of us wish we’d asked her about and written down before it was too late to do that.  We didn’t and I’ve tried several ways to recreate what she made from ingredients I think she would have had in her cupboard, but it never quite comes out the same.

Well, I have a better chance today of enjoying something familiar – familiar words from God – a recipe for a great day. 

Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and be safe.  Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire. Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him, and he will help you

Psalm 37:3-5

As I said, very familiar words and look at the promises we get in these words:  Safety, our heart’s desire, help from God. I’d like to experience all those on a regular basis, wouldn’t you?

Well, to think about recipes again, there are usually wet ingredients and dry ingredients.  You can’t have a successful batch of cookies or a cake without both of them. 

We can’t have a successful life without God’s promises and our obedience to what He tells us to do.  So, we’ve got the promises, now what’s our part?

Trust in the Lord; do good; live in the land ( in other words don’t just run here and there according to the whim of the day); seek our happiness in the Lord; and give ourselves to the Lord.

Not complicated just like milk, sugar, eggs, and flour aren’t complicated but not always easy to choose over our self-centered self-will either.  Let’s ask God to help us make something really lovely in this day from these familiar words.

Heavenly Father, help us to trust You today – trust that You are good, that You are with us, and that Your way for us truly is a good one for us.  Help us to stay steady when we feel like running away. Give us strength and courage to seek the things that You say make life good and trust You to fill us with happiness. 

We may have to begin with faith that this is true and satisfaction and that deep sense of well-being will be ours when we give ourselves to You throughout the day.  Amen

Familiar recipes for great tasting food.  Familiar words from God for a lovely day.  What are we waiting for.  Let’s do it today.