“When you face stormy seas I will be there with you with endurance and calm; you will not be engulfed in raging rivers. If it seems like you’re walking through fire with flames licking at your limbs, keep going; you won’t be burned.”
ISAIAH 43:2 VOICE
And as we walk through storms, we will be protected and through fire, we will not burned, because God, our Sustainer is with us.
Think with me for a moment. What are some earthly desires of your heart? Now take whatever things you identified and think of them, figuratively as food, apples. Since you desire apples, there is probably some level of hunger for apples. So you walk into a restaurant and you are ravenous for apples, and what is everyone else eating? You guessed it, apples. You look around and see apple-smoked bacon, apple skewers, and apple juice on the tables of other patrons. You are seated and a waiter comes, saying that your food will be ready shortly, but did not give you a menu or even take you order. As you sit, the waft of apples gets into your nose and and your mouth starts watering. And even more apple dishes start to adorn other tables around you. Warm apple soufflé, spicy cinnamon apples and buttery apple pancakes. Your stomach starts to somersault with all the sights and smells of apples!
Then a person pulls out a chair and sits at your table. He starts talking to you and the conversation flows smoothly. It is like this no-named person knows you on a personal level. As time goes on, your attention to all the appleness around you fades. You are still craving some apples but it’s not quite as intense as it was before. After a while, the waiter comes with an delicious slice of apple pie that you hadn’t seen on the other tables. This apple pie is also something you didn’t order (because you were never given a menu or even asked to order). It is at this point that your no-named guest reveals that he ordered it for you because he knew not only what you wanted but what you needed.
You already know that the no-named guest was God. He is always with us but does make His Presence more pronounced when we need him most. The general desires of our hearts are known to us, but the real-life manifestation of those desires is not always known to us. This is where God comes in. We may think we want apple cider because that is what everyone else is drinking. Yet God knows that although we want something apple-related, apple cider is not what is best for us and our unique lives.
God keeps us dry from the storms, unburned from the flames and unconsumed by the desires of our hearts, while we are waiting. Whatever your apples may be, don’t become overwhelmed with the appearance of apples in other people’s lives. Stay focused on God, knowing that your apples are on the way and that God will be with you in the meantime!
Weekend Wellness Tip
Until Midweek Musings,
