Imagine having a friend with an amazing recipe – a culinary creation for which family members rush to be first at the dessert table; a decadent forkful that has no comparison or rivals on the holiday menu; a taste so divine that your mouth waters just thinking about it.

Now imagine asking that friend for their perfected and cherished recipe.  Your friend will most likely be flattered by the praise, and in the event willing to share, will give you the absolute best instructions and guidance for producing a successful product.

Now imagine listening to the details – precisely given by the ultimate authority of this unmatched masterpiece.  But while hearing the steps, the method, the process, you contemplate possible substitutions or shortcuts for its preparation.  You reason there must be easier ways to accomplish the result you hope to achieve.  You voice your interest, you want the best result, but ultimately dismiss the guidance when the process requires more attention and effort than you anticipated.     

Sometimes the same is true of our interactions with God.  We have questions, we want answers.  We want a good result, we desire a blessed life, but often discount or dismiss God’s guidance – the very guidance needed for the answers, the results, the blessings we long for.

God will never force His guidance on us – instead He patiently waits until we are willing to hear and receive His heart’s desire for our lives.  Imagine if instead of looking for shortcuts and substitutions, work-arounds and compromise, we simply follow His perfect and loving guidance to the letter.  What peaceful, joyful, beautiful lives we would experience… if we just ask and listen.

For more on this topic, please visit the Whimspiration YouTube channel “Faith Hope & Friends”.

Episode 54- What’d I Say About Sweet Potato Pie?