It's painful!

As I sliced feijoas for Lydia to enjoy, I pretended the feijoas cried, "Ouch!" For feijoas to be eaten, they have to be cut down the middle with a sharp knife. A lot of food has to go through a painful process. They're chopped up, grated, melted, put into the hot oven, put through the food processor or the whizz.

Do you want your life to bring spiritual refreshment, enjoyment, strength and nourishment to other Christians? Do you want your life to be food?

My life prayer has been that God would use my life like He used the little lad's five loaves and two fishes. To feed the multitude.

If we want our life to be like food that benefits others, guess what? It's going to be a painful process! How many of the beautiful psalms came out of hard places? What about Paul's letters? If his life was a piece of cake, would he have had anything worthwhile to share that would benefit others? How many Christians have found hope through Job's story of loss? And what about all the hymns that have encouraged Christians down through the years? A lot of them were written out of loss and painful trials.

For our life to be food, we may feel like we are sliced, chopped, melted, whizzed and put into the oven for far too long. We may cringe, cry, feel embarrassed, even criticized and misunderstood, battle fears, and grieve. We may have to wait a long time like dough does when it's rising. And we surely have to die to ourselves. But that's part of the necessary process.

God is the Master Chef, and He knows what He's doing when He's at work in our life. Make sure your life is in His wise and loving hands. Surrender to the chopping, the waiting and the pain and see how God blesses you to be a blessing!