Savoring God's Sweet Grace...When Life's Left a Bitter Taste

My love for chocolate was already strong when I was quite young. And I knew there was a big box of baking bars in my mother's cupboard. Would she even notice if I snuck just one bar from the box? Doubtful. So I climbed the cabinets one day, grabbed the box and stole a bar. Mmm! It sure smelled like the real thing. Ever so sneakily, I popped it into my mouth and began chewing. Ugh! Yuck! Eww!

I was old enough to know that chocolate was a good thing, but young enough that I didn't understand the meaning of "Unsweetened Baking Chocolate." My naive expectation of something rich and sweet was dashed by a blast of bitter, unsweetened nastiness - 100 percent pure cacao! My happy chocolate-sneaking smile was replaced with an unhappy puckering grimace as I attempted to rinse my mouth out to erase the bitter taste.

Where I had hoped for something sweet, I received something bitter instead. Life is kind of like that sometimes too. Where we hope for sweet morsels of happiness, we sometimes receive bitter nuggets of pain and suffering. In our sin, we allow ourselves to become embittered by the circumstances into which we are often dipped, to be disappointed by the effects of the world that threaten to change our taste and leave a bitter aftertaste.

How can we maintain a sweet outlook on life when there is so much bitterness, so much anger, hurt, and heartache? Bitter feelings are often packaged in unsweetened circumstances:

Maybe you struggle with anger against those who've ridiculed you for your faith or for something else. 

Are you struggling to let go of hurt from loved ones, and it's keeping you from reconciling with them? 

Maybe you live with chronic pain or fear of news you suspect your doctor has for you. 

Or maybe you ache from the heartache of losing the person you held most dear.

How can you survive these circumstances and so many more like them? What do you do when you're crushed under the weight of sorrow or pain? How can you not become embittered when you're brokenhearted or angry? And maybe a most difficult question: to what may you resort in your attempt to erase the bitter taste of your troubles?

Many of us turn to something we think will remove the bitter taste or temporarily numb the emotional pain, sweeten the flavor of our dark days, or at least offer a distraction from our misery. But that something never delivers real relief from our troubles...and it often causes an even nastier taste. 

We may have rationalized the distractions we've chosen, and maybe we've tried to find a solution on our own, seeking help through self-talk or self-help sources, to no avail.

Can our sweetness be restored? Is there a real solution, a true answer? Yes. And our Savior, Jesus, has that answer. He says, "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). We can take our pain and sorrow to the One who went to the cross, tasting the bitter pain, suffering, and death that should have been ours. Hebrews 2:9 reminds us that Christ tasted death for everyone. He knows our anger, hurt, and heartache. Our compassionate Lord feels our pain. His blood covered our sins and the sins of the whole world; sweet salvation is ours in Christ! Jesus rescues and gives real rest. 

Lean into His strong arms instead of striving to earn grace and attempting to restore sweetness on your own; receive His forgiveness, healing, and hope. Cry out to your Rescuer, who says, "Come to Me."  

"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

    and his ears toward their cry.

16 17 

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

    and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

    and saves the crushed in spirit."  -Psalm 34:15,17-18

Seek His help, recognizing that He may provide just what you need through a pastor, a Christian counselor, or a person with wise, godly counsel who will speak truth into your situation and provide hope and help, by God's Sweet Grace! (Savor His grace!) Trust the Holy Spirit's continual work in your life, comforting and guiding you, according to God's Word.

So turn to God's Word in the middle of every circumstance and cling to your Savior's words, trusting that His loving grip is upon you. Read His comforting words here, as God reveals how deeply He cares for you, on the days that are light and smooth and on those that are dark and lumpy, and especially at the center of every trial and difficulty: 

"The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

    he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing." -Zephaniah 3:17

Even in the middle of our trials, we can rest assured that we have a Savior who is bigger than every tribulation we will ever face. Jesus promised, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." John 16:33  

Today, Christ provides His strength TO YOU, to not only endure your trials, struggles, or suffering, but even more, to ultimately overcome them victoriously through Him who has overcome the world at the cross and the empty tomb!

Portion from Living a Chocolate Life © Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission.