Have you ever watched any of those cooking competition shows that are so popular on television right now? Some of them seriously stress me out, but there are a few I enjoy watching. The ones I find the most mind-blowing are those where the contestants are given a jumble of mismatched ingredients and told to compose a particular type of dish. For example, they’re given a bag of potato chips, some chocolate bars, a can of beans, papaya, and a turkey leg and told to prepare a Mediterranean brunch. Say what?

The part that makes it so fascinating to me is that the contestants can do it. They make food that looks and tastes delicious. These chefs take a group of random, less-than-ideal ingredients and turn them into a meal fit for royalty. If you gave me those same ingredients, do you know what you’d get? A mess! Maybe you’re the same way.

But, the more I think about it, the more I realize most of us do it all the time. Not in the kitchen, perhaps, but in life. Let’s face it, we’ve all experienced spells where life hands us some less-than-ideal ingredients, and we’re left to figure out what in the world to do with them. Yes, sometimes, we make a mess, but most of the time, by God’s grace, we’re able to create something beautiful. I should say, He creates something beautiful, for He is the Master Chef in our stories. Not us.

Some days, I struggle to make sense of the ingredients I’ve been given. Maybe you can relate. Health issues, financial troubles, marriage difficulties, a wayward child, an unforgiving boss, an unreliable vehicle—these are just a few of the “whammy ingredients” some of us have been given. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like anything good can come from them. They don’t seem to fit together to form the desired outcome. They feel random and sometimes downright cruel (like when the competing chefs are required to make a gourmet meal with Vienna sausages and beef jerky). It just seems wrong. Impossible, even.

But just as those chefs can create culinary masterpieces with their assorted ingredients, so can our Master Chef create a masterpiece in our lives. We may not see how the pieces fit together, but He does, and that’s really all that matters. We may not understand how combining two less-than-ideal ingredients can result in something good, but He does. We may feel like the challenge is impossible, but fortunately for us, our God specializes in making the impossible possible.

As for us, our job is to let God be God. He doesn’t need our help. We all know what happens when there are too many cooks in the kitchen. We’re not the ones who can make something beautiful out of all this mess. God is. Watch and learn. And above all, trust that He is working to create a masterpiece in your life.

Is anyone else feeling hungry now? No, just me? That’s my biggest qualm with cooking shows. They always give me an appetite. I pray that watching God “cook up” something extraordinary in my life will give me a hunger to go out and live it for His honor and glory!