Mark Sorensen It’s funny the way displays at grocery stores can catch your eye.
I ran into the store to grab a few items needed for our dinner a few days ago and, much to my surprise, I was stopped in my tracks by the largest display of Pop-Tarts that I had ever seen. It took me back to my childhood. Growing up, I loved Pop-Tarts. More than I care to admit, honestly. If memory serves me correctly, they weren’t much for filling you up but, when toasted properly, they were absolute perfection. But that was the key: they needed to be in that toaster just long enough that the inside was hot. If they popped up too early, they weren’t worthy of eating, in my humble opinion. Many mornings I remember having to push them back down in the toaster so the heat could have a sufficient chance to do its work and make those pastries satisfactory for my enjoyment.
The same can be true for trials in our lives, right?
Ever feel like God is pushing you down in the heat when, the reality is, you just want to pop up and pop out of those difficulties and circumstances?
However, what if something greater is happening in the trials? Remember that in the heat comes a refining, and through the refining, God does His most beautiful work.
I love what James says about trials and adversity:
My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing , so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4
We’re learning so much from our time in Daniel 1-3. This Sunday, I will be bringing a word on Daniel 4. Go ahead and read the chapter.
It’s going to be another incredible Sunday of worship.
