Have you ever felt like you were under God’s thumb? Like every turn was one more hard pressed circumstance. You knew in your heart, “God is good” but his goodness felt more like stretching, refining, and just was plain painful.
Well, friend, you’re not alone.
One night after I put my kids to bed I went downstairs to mix up some sourdough bread. As I was pressing my hands into the dough and mixing the ingredients together, I started crying. I told God, “I feel like this is what you’re doing to me. I feel like your thumbs are pressing into me.” And in that moment, I felt God whisper over me, “But look where my hands are! They are all over you!”
I sensed God’s presence with me in the kitchen as I kneaded the dough. He then began to show me how each process of making sourdough is like the process of sanctification in a Christian’s life.
Sourdough is not made quickly, it is something that takes forethought, planning and time. When you’re mixing the dough, it is so important to not skip a step. Each step builds on the next. Once the initial ingredients are kneaded together, the dough is allowed to rest.
When the dough rests, it is covered with a towel. God reminded me that even though he has to work out the kinks in my life, knead me like dough, press into the sin areas, he gives me times of rest. During that rest…
He Covers Me!
It is HIS presence that protects me and leads me to those green pastures to find rest for my soul. (Psalm 23). Without the rest times where he builds me back up again, I could not be ready for the next stretching that will take place.
After the time of rest, sourdough is ready for another time of stretching, pulling, and folding. This is so necessary because it allows the yeast to be activated. If the yeast was never activated, the dough wouldn’t rise properly. The same applies to our life. If it weren’t for the times of stretching, those times where you must walk out in faith, the times where you see your sin so plainly and your absolute NEED for Jesus- you could never rise to the next level. We need our hearts to be “activated,” and refined.
But praise God he never leaves us alone. No trial we undergo is without purpose.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I don’t know about you, but I find such comfort in knowing that God is working in my life to complete me. There’s nothing in this world that can, but HIM. He knows we are but dust, he remembers this- so he allows us to rest again. And once again, he covers us.
Once sourdough has rested a final time, it is shaped into a loaf and allowed to rise/take on the shape of the bread pan. Then, it will be cooked and ready to be shared.
Each season of pressure and hardship is preparing us for the next stage.
The point of it all is to take on the shape of Jesus. We want to stretch out of our own likeness and into the likeness of Christ. So that when we go through the fire, we come out more like our Savior. We want to come out with a testimony that we can’t keep to ourselves! We will want to share it with friends, family, strangers so that others can “taste and see that the Lord is good!!” Psalm 34:8
Such an encouraging message that we all need to be reminded of! I love how God uses simple things like making bread to teach us big lessons!