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I made steak for dinner the other night; as we gathered around the table my 7-year-old daughter went on and on about the merits of this delectable steak. It was “the best steak I ever made” it was “perfectly cooked and seasoned” she could not find fault in this steak.
Anyone who has cooked meals for children knows they can be critics of the life-sustaining creations served on plates three times a day. My daughter could not find fault, but oh, I could. My hair still smelled like the smoke from our smoker as it not only rejected my attempt to prepare dinner but burst into flames. I was on my way back from collecting chicken eggs, and seeing all those beautiful colored eggs in the wooden basket brings me great joy. I couldn’t help but smile as I greeted the goats on my way back into the house. Then I saw it; the plume of smoke rising from the smoker, and that joy was immediately replaced with stress, knowing at once the smoker was on fire.
As flames lapped out the sides and the temperature crested 600, I knew dinner was ruined. My only hope was to contain the fire to my fiercely angry grill and not allow the flames to jump to our home or shop. I managed to salvage the steaks but had little hope for their future as I put them on warm in the oven and debated my backup dinner plans. How quickly my joy was swept away. How quickly I went from marveling at God’s provision in those brightly colored chicken eggs and smiling to digging in my cupboards and debating if I had time to defrost this or that in frustration. God didn’t change; I did.
In defeat, I accepted dinner would be those steaks, I would let them warm and do my best to salvage the meal. I couldn’t bear the thought of giving up on them. Meat is expensive even when it is bought at the store, but throwing away meat when I know the family who raised it, when I picked it up from the butcher and packed it tidily away in my deep freezer the price feels heavier.
I made homemade mac and cheese as a side dish because I figured at least that would go over well and hopefully would distract my family from the deeply charred steak sitting next to it on the plate.
Imagine my surprise when we sat down to eat, and my family started to praise my perceived failure. To lavish words, like “delicious” “delectable” and “stupendous” (my daughter has been reading a lot lately and loves fancy words). She barely touched her homemade mac and cheese but asked for seconds of the steak.
I thought to myself, Lord what have you done here?
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
His steadfast enduring love, His desire for me to feel joy and be in a relationship with Him never left, never faltered. God didn’t change; I did. When life handed me an unexpected challenge, I jumped the tracks, tried to forge my own path, and briefly lost my way. How easy is it for us to lose focus when our life (or grill) goes up in flames? The victory is His.
Lord, thank you for this reminder, that when I start to fight my own battles when I jump off the path you have set before me and forge my own way, I am lost. Because the victory is Yours, and Your love never fails. Just as You guided the Israelites with pillars of smoke and fire, You will light my way. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, hallowed be Your name. -Amen