When Life Hands You A Potato
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Insight
I was making dinner and had vegetables laid out to wash. My youngest was four years old at the time. She has always been curious and asks a lot of questions. This evening, in particular, she picked up this ugly, dirty, brown ball, and as she asked, "Mama, what is this?" she took a giant bite. She immediately spat it out and said, "UGH!" I told her, "That is a potato." She looked confused as I explained that it wasn't cooked yet. When she asked where potatoes come from and I told her from under the dirty ground, she looked even more puzzled. I explained more about what potatoes are and what you can make out of them: french fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, or you can put them in a soup or stew like I was doing that night. She replied, "All that comes out of that?" as she pointed to the potatoes. I told her, "Yes! Cooking them makes them taste good in all sorts of different ways."
Forget when life gives you lemons. What happens when life hands you a potato? It's ugly, dirty, nasty, hard, and comes from the dirt. Yet, when cleaned, peeled, cut, and put under some heat, they turn into something delicious. They nourish and fuel our bodies and are the primary component to most comfort food meals. It's like they have become something entirely different while still being a potato. It just takes some work to get them there.
Today's Scripture tells us that God works all things for the good of those who love Him. So how do we reconcile this promise when some things in life are not good? Death of a loved one. A chronic illness. The loss of a child. A car accident. A broken relationship. Financial hardship. A pandemic. Anxiety. Depression. Addiction. These things make us question God's love for His people. They make our soul groan. In verse 22, Paul mentions that all of creation groans to be redeemed. We all yearn for a time when there will be no struggle, no ugly, no dirty, no hard, and no pain. Our souls yearn for heaven when we long for things to be made right. What carries us through the groanings is knowing that we have hope for the good that is to come.
Scripture doesn't say that everything we get is going to be good. We won't be spared the ugly parts of life in a fallen world. Sometimes things aren't going to work out the way we want it. In those moments, we shouldn't convince ourselves that these things shouldn't happen to us but rather lean on Scripture to point us to hope.
God's purpose for our lives is to make us more like Jesus, which takes place as we work out our faith, choose obedience, and endure hardship while clinging to hope. Becoming more like Him is the good He desires for us. If He is good and He is love, then we continue to struggle in the right direction toward the end goal of being more like Jesus. So we love one another, endure, and press on despite everything meant to harm us.
Further in Romans 8, Paul asks the question we should ask when life gives us ugly, dirty, hard things. In verse 35, he says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" In verse 37 he answers, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
He loves us. He had made us conquerors. There is not a suffering in our lives that God will not redeem and use for His glory and our good. He will take every potato and give us nourishment, comfort and make something delightful out of it. With a little work and under a little heat, every potato in your life will be used to make a bowl of something that fuels your body and gives comfort to your soul. His promise is redemption and that He makes all things new.
Reflection
What is your soul groaning for right now? If you aren't sure or don't have the words, ask God to hear your groans and longing to be made new.
How can you put your hope in His redemption of the burden you are carrying today?
Prayer
Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the hope that You will redeem every struggle we face in this world through Him. We pray that we would see our struggles as opportunities to grow and transform our lives to look more like Jesus. We are grateful that there is absolutely nothing that could separate us from Your love. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
Ashley Sarvis, Port City's Welcome Coordinator, wrote today's devotional.
