I was getting ready to make bread today and started to laugh.
I know, a strange thing to do when getting ready to bake.
I laughed because I realized making bread is a metaphor for my current season.
Have you heard this statement?
“Yes, God loves us just the way we are. But He also loves us too much to stay that way!”
I am currently in a season when God is saying—Trust Me. Lots of “unknowns.” Lots of “uncertainty.” Lots of “waiting for answers.” Lots of “prayers followed by silence.”
You know what means. This is a season of refinement. Of growing. A season of removing impurities in my thinking, attitude, and/or life.
These are never my favorite seasons.
But when I’m through them and look back I am thankful for them. Why? Because I’m different. More functional. More able to accomplish what God has called me to do.
See, when you make bread you have to
- Get the proper recipe
- Gather all the ingredients
- Mix it all together in a specific order
However, there is a key factor to ensuring your bread actually rises,
You MUST make sure the yeast is dissolved in the proper temperature of water for that particular kind of yeast or it won’t activate.
- Too hot and the yeast dies
- Too cold and it won’t activate.
After the dough is mixed together it’s set to the side to rise in a warm quiet area. Then it is shaped into a loaf, rolls, braid or whatever and allowed to rise again before baking.
In other words, there’s a lot of work. Waiting. More work. More waiting. Then the heat and more waiting. However, this is when the fragrance of the bread starts to fill the house drawing my family into the kitchen. This is when the mouths start to water and the anticipation of eating it fills the mind.
Why is this like my current season?
As I wait for my answer from Harvest House, I feel like the loaf of bread
- Research
- Writing
- Editing
- Write the book proposal
- Send it in
- Request for chapter 1
- Finish writing
- Edit
- Send
- Wait…
As I wait for God’s leading in this ministry I feel like the loaf of bread.
As I wait for various transitions in our family to play out I feel like the loaf of bread.
As I wait for my health to get back on track I feel like a loaf of bread.
As I wait for…
As I wait for…
As I wait for…
What are you waiting for?
What have you been bringing before God over and over? What answers are you waiting to receive?
Like my bread, there might be a lot of things going on behind the scenes as you wait. Things you cannot see. Things you are unaware of. Things that must take place before the thing you are waiting for is ready. Steps and stages that must take place before the blessing can be enjoyed. You might see some of the effects, like the dough doubling in size as it rises, but you know the process isn’t complete.
Although waiting is hard and being patient isn’t easy, what I am learning all over again is this…
God is faithful.
He has been so many times in the past. When I look back I see all every single time He has answered my prayers and blessed me beyond what I could ever hope or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). I also see the times He has not given me what I asked for BECAUSE He has something greater in mind. I see how I changed, matured, and grew through each season of waiting.
I can also see the times I didn’t wait well.
- Times I grew impatient and tried to manipulate things to go my way (even though in hindsight they already were)
- Times I thought I would “help things along” and ended up making a mess of things
- Times I gave in to the temptation to quit
- Times I got angry, depressed, or despondent
Like this loaf of bread, I tried to hurry things along and ended up making a HUGE mess. Although this loaf looks nice on the outside, if you look inside the hole you realize that it didn’t rise properly. I was in a hurry. The yeast was taking longer to activate than planned and I was running behind schedule. So I tried to encourage, okay push, things along during its second rising.
When I put the bread in the oven, everything looked great! I thought I succeeded. When I peeked through the window, the loaf looked perfect, it was browning well, and I felt very self-satisfied.
Until I took it out of the oven.
Instead of the pan feeling light and airy, it felt like a brick! Somewhere in the rising or baking process, the dough fell. The outer shell was there and looked lovely, but the inside was a gooey, raw, uncooked mess!
I love how David implores us to be brave and courageous as we wait. Waiting is hard. Sometimes it takes courage. Sometimes it takes bravery. Sometimes it takes both.
Beloved, as we wait together, let’s commit to praying FOR each other, not just the situation we are praying for. Let’s pray that we will wait well. Patiently. Bravely. Courageously. Let’s pray that we will trust God to lead us onto His path in HIS TIMING.
Blessings, xoxo
