May 31, 2011

The Best Part

1 Peter 5:6-7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

— 

What’s your favorite part of a meal? Mine is the dessert.

When I was 19 years old, I went for my first independent trip to another city. There I discovered a restaurant that served only sweet foods. A typical meal would include a fruit salad, a “soup” made out of a milk shake, and a main dish based on pastries shaped in the form of steak or chicken. As you can guess, the restaurant also served a variety of stand-alone desserts.

Most customers would order one piece off the menu. But I decided to fulfill my childhood dream and went for a full four- course meal. It looked great. But in the end I didn’t feel so good. I didn’t even finish my dessert. It turned out that having too many sweets wasn’t so wonderful after all.

Sometimes we pray for a long happy life, a kind of never- ending dessert. But it turns out that real life has a wide variety of tastes and flavors. It’s sweet when we look into the happy eyes of the people we love. It’s bitter when tragedy strikes. Or it gets salty, because of our tears.

Real life is not a piece of cake. It’s actually much more nutritious for building up our soul— but only if we humble ourselves before God and fully trust him in Christ.

Our heavenly Father, thank you for giving us food that endures to eternal life in Jesus Christ! Be with us in good times and bad times. May we trust in you fully as you care for us always. Amen.

About the author — Sergei Sosedkin

Rev. Sergei Sosedkin is the Russian-language ministry leader for ReFrame Ministries. He is a native of Moscow, Russia. As he oversees the Russian-language ministry, Rev. Sosedkin works from our office in Grand Rapids and in various locations in Russia.

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