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It's All Going to Work Out (I Promise!)

Hot air balloon cake and cookies from Out of the Box Baking.com

I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answers their prayers!
Isaiah 65:24 NLT

I don't know about you, but I'm always tempted to give up just before my breakthrough comes. I look at the chaos in front of me and I get scared. My knees start knocking. My hands start shaking. I'm tempted to quit. . .just before the miracle arrives.

It happens all the time in the kitchen.

Several months back I had a day like that. I spent hours and hours baking a cake and cookies for my sweet little niece. She had asked for hot-air balloon themed baked goods for her birthday party, which was to take place the following day. I worked all afternoon in the kitchen and was pretty wiped out by early evening.

That's when I had to take a break to attend a friend's wedding. Yep, right in the middle of my bake-a-thon I had to leave for a formal event. That meant I had to change out of my work clothes, covered in flour and powdered sugar, and get all dressed up.

If you're a baker, you can imagine how difficult this was! It's hard to leave a project in the middle, before it's even decorated! And no baker is in the mood for a formal occasion when she's got chocolate cake batter in her hair!

Exhausted after my long day of baking I rushed to and from the wedding, then made a late-night stop at the store to buy additional decorating supplies. After that, I headed home to finish the cake and cookies. By now it was nearly 10:00 at night and I still had a l-o-t to do.

Did I mention I was exhausted?

And you know what happens when you're tired after baking all day. . .

You don't make the best decisions. Your decorating skills aren't quite up to par.

Such was the case on that infamous night. The hand-painted cookies were messy, not at all what I had pictured in my head. I slapped them together, super-duper fast.

The details were sloppy, at best.

And the cake? The blue cake, the one that was supposed to look like the sky? Not great. Kind of messy. And the tan "basket" cake looked uneven and boring. Could things possibly get any worse?

Sometimes it looks like things won't come together in the kitchen.

I was near the giving-up stage when I remembered the cake topper--the hot-air balloon. I had made it days earlier from a Japanese lantern and it was loaded with color. Maybe the party guests would be so distracted by all of the shimmer and shine in the balloon that they wouldn't notice the flaws in the cake.

I hoped.

But before I could add the topper I had to finish decorating the cakes.

I started by adding the fondant clouds to the sky cake, then I stacked the basket cake on top of it.

In that moment, it all started coming together! And when it did, it made perfect sense to me!

Finally the moment arrived. I used four colorful straws to attach the hot air balloon to the basket cake.

What had once looked boring and messy suddenly looked. . .lovely! Charming! Delightful!

Life is like that sometimes, you know.

Things look like they won't come together. You're ready to give up. You think it's not going to work out.

You raise your hands to heaven and shout, "Would it be okay if I just quit right now, Lord?"

That's exactly when you need to keep going, friend.

Don't quit!

Don't stop when the cake doesn't look pretty. It's not finished yet. When it all comes together, (and it will) chances are pretty good you're going to fall in love with it!

Hot air balloon cake and cookies from Out of the Box Baking.com

I don't know what you're dealing with today. I don't know what looks unfinished in your life. But this much I do know--you can trust God.

  • You can trust Him when you can't fully see the picture.
  • You can trust Him when finances are low.
  • You can trust Him when someone you love hurts you deeply.
  • You can trust Him when the road ahead looks fuzzy.
  • You can trust Him, even when you can't trust yourself.

Here is God's message for you today:

It's going to work out--in His time and in His way. So, rest easy. . .and keep working on that cake until the finished product takes your breath away.

Lord, I trust You! I can't see what's coming around the bend, but You can. It feels like disaster is lurking, but I won't give up. I have faith to believe for the impossible! I put my trust in You today. Amen.


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That's it for now! Keep the faith, friends! God is for you!


About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.

Janetta Messmer

Sunday 10th of July 2022

Oh, that cake is ADORABLE. I'm glad you never give up. Whatever is "lurking around the corner" - God's got it and everything else we worry about.

booksbyjanice

Sunday 10th of July 2022

Amen! (And thank you!)

Julie reed

Friday 8th of July 2022

Absolutely beautiful!! Friends of the Village bakery!

booksbyjanice

Friday 8th of July 2022

Great to hear from you, Julie!

Robin Bunting

Friday 8th of July 2022

Oh my.....my heart feels lifted after reading this. Thank you!

booksbyjanice

Friday 8th of July 2022

Thank you! Mine was lifted as I wrote it! (I needed that message right now, for sure!)

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