Has anyone ever said these words to you? "When life gives you lemons make lemonade!" These words are usually said with a smile as if the speaker has answered every one of your questions and solved all the problems related to a very intricate and difficult situation. By the way, it is normal to want to punch the throat of this "one who spouts unhelpful clichés!” One-size-fits-all remarks rarely do justice to the complexity of the problems that arise within this broken world. To go even a step further, quoting one-size-fits-all verses rarely bring peace to the pain some humans are enduring.
I had something happen this afternoon that was not extremely painful but was frustrating and difficult to endure. And as I drove away from the place where this “something” occurred I pondered, “Why did that have to happen?” Keep in mind what took place was not that big of a deal. But the disappointment was deep enough to cause that Lament-Psalm question, “Why, O Lord?” After I meditated for a few brief moments, the lemonade formula came to mind. And then I thought, “These lemons are rotten and probably would make disgusting lemonade!”
There are times we should simply dispose of the produce we receive from the fruit trees of this fallen world. Stop trying to find meaning in the pain or figure out what God is trying to teach us. Often there is no answer this side of resurrection as to why God has allowed certain “thorns” to steal our blood. But we do have the confident hope that he will one day overcome all our suffering and purge this world of all “lemons.”
So sometimes life will give us lemons and the only appropriate response is to use them to sharpen the blades on the garbage disposal.
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