When Anita bakes a cake, she mixes together different ingredients. Except for the sugar, each one tastes pretty bad. But she carefully measures out a certain amount of each of the bad tasting ingredients following a recipe. Once mixed together, she puts the whole ill-tasting concoction into the oven and bakes them for a set amount of time. When it comes out of the oven, she puts it before us and it all tastes great. It was the combining of these not-so-tasty parts, and the season in the cooker, that brought out a great flavor, and earns praise for her cooking skills.

Its like that in life, as well. Life on this fallen planet can be full of painful and disappointing results. But God knows how to work all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Loving God is a requirement for seeing His hand at work in these troubled times. When things look bad, don’t forget that God is good.