“Icing On The Cake”

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

1 Peter 1:7 NLT

I had just shared some prayer time with a sister~in~Christ … we chatted about being excited over the the Bible Study we were about to encounter this season. A study in Prayer … was on my way home driving and praying with thanksgiving to the Lord about my expectant hope … when I made that left~hand turn and … tumbling went my purse across the front passenger seat.

Not giving it much thought beyond the contents I would now have to recover in the dim garage lighting, I simply continued to drive home.

Arriving into the garage I found more than just a cluttered mess ~~ the small bundt cake that was in my purse had somehow popped out and released a smeared mess all over the handles of my leather purse.

I had no sooner said, “thank you, Lord, for the privilege to serve you through others …” then the challenge was put before me to put feet to my faith.

It wasn’t just the obvious mess that was apparent, but Sister, it was the impression that left me: trials on this side of Paradise require a response from me and how I choose to respond will speak to the transformation that Christ has had upon me.

It’s no secret that we will walk through this life being inundated with trials and persecutions of varying degrees. And if you’ve been a Christ-Follower for any period of time beyond 5 minutes you will know this to be quite true. Setting aside any formal opportunity to give our ‘testimony,’ our life is our Testimony.

This simple incident of the tumbling bundtlet and the gooey mess reminded me of how easy these challenges can roll through our lives, but the response that flows from us is what gives life to our faith.

11 It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him.”

Matthew 15:11 AMP

In essence, Girlfriend, our behavior is the icing on the cake.

I could have easily made a ‘huge messy stink’ over the unexpected incident, by ranting over the whole ordeal. But really, what would that have given me other than more heartache and deeper resentment.

As I mopped up the mess, I pondered over what had just happened and actually thanked The Lord that it wasn’t anything truly serious enough to lose myself by drowning in a sea of woe. I was grateful for the blessed privilege to see that He was reminding me of the spiritual battles that lay ahead of me this season as I stepped into this leg of the Journey.

I allowed God to show me the icing on the cake isn’t always what I believe it should or will be, or even that it will look the way I think it will appear.

“Thank You, Lord, for the eyesight to see the hidden Blessings in my life.”

I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend,

LindaRJohnson

T2T Visionary