Burned Cookies

It is a gene that has been handed down from my mom....burnt cookies. I have every good intention in my baking efforts and the first batch generally goes pretty well. Oh but the following ones don't fare so well. I lose track of time, move on to another distraction and forget about the cookies til I smell that oh so familiar smell. Sometimes I will have been outside, and other times just in a different part of the house. But I tell you what, that burnt smell travels quickly, seeps into the crevices of the furniture and walls and holds its ground for several days. Yesterday was one of those days. And truly there are no excuses...a timer might have helped but this time I was outside and even that would have fallen on deaf ears. The cookie sheet with the blackened cookies remains outside on the back porch as a reminder of good intention with distracted focus.

Just looking at those blackened, and I do mean coal black, cookies, it made me think about times when I personally have been burned, and times when I am sure I have burned others. You have been there! We can be burned in relationships, or by an overlooked opportunity at work, an intentional omission to an invitation, dishonest manipulation, harsh words that have flown, deceipt or sometimes we even burn ourselves by what we do, responses we make or the consequences of our unrighteous behavior. And the burn seeps into our soul, and the crevices of our hearts and minds and hovers, sometimes for a very long while.

Just as it takes time for the burnt cookie smell to fade away, so it takes time to heal from a burned experience. Burnt sacrifices are accepted and referred to many times through the old testament. But what if we in today's time trust God with our burned experiences. He is the only one who has the healing salve, the mix of forgiveness, trust, grace and love to soothe the wounds of fire bitten burn. We have such a tendency to try to conquer the pain on our own, or dismiss it as something that we just have to deal with and store away. But the truth is there is a God driven lesson in the burn which we can incorporate in our processing, but the pain does not have to accompany the lesson. The lessons vary in each of us according to God's purposes, but if we allow God the permission to treat our burned experience as an offering unto his glory, we will gently and gradually be soothed by his presence and peace, keeping the lesson and losing the pain. For to love God is to trust God in all situations and all circumstances.

We will get burned by something or someone at sometime. That is ineffable. Many of us already have. But one thing remains constant in the midst of our fiery trials. If we trust God and stand steady on the foundation that God is in control, he has our back, and his purposes will not be thwarted... then we will be able to emerge the fires without blemish or burn. It is about the focus...we have to stay focused on the task at hand, and that is serving Christ is all we do and all we say. If we have not rooted
our thoughts in a Christ baked mentality then we are sure to be vulnerable to distractions that await us. And we will get burned by the world's fires of lies and manipulations.

Remember the story in Daniel 3 about the three guys thrown into the fire becasue they would not worship the kings' god only stood reverent and committed to worshiping their one true God. They were thrown into a blazing furnace, and were seen walking around in the fire, and were finally called out of the fire. v (26) So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, (27) and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on themthese three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."

Mark 12:32-34

"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

All this from a batch of burned cookies? Yes, God can heal us with his salve when we have been burned, and he protects us when we are thrown into fiery furnaces....if only we stay true to our faith in him and trust him in spite of the circumstances that are before us.

Dear Lord, what a blessing it is to know you and know too that any any moment we are invited to seek your help your guidance, your wisdom and your protection, and you will not only listen to our cries but answer us according to your purposes. Amen



Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!
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