In Heavy Syrup

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each cobbler and coffee!  A winning combination by any standards!  One Saturday afternoon while visiting one of the local grocery stores, I came across a nifty little package that just seemed to fit the bill for a quick dessert or late night snack.  Someone came up with the idea of a ready-made mix for peach or cherry cobbler (fortunately for them I love both) and packaged it in a box including the fruit filling.  This is my kind of person!   Open a can, dump a bag of mix on top, pop it in the oven, and in 30 minutes, voilà—peach cobbler!

While I love the convenience of doing things this way, sometimes there is just no substitute for doing it yourself.  So, in addition to purchasing the hocus-pocus-instant-cobbler mix, I also bought the items necessary to do it myself.  As I was rolling the cart down the aisle of canned fruits looking for peaches, something just jumped right out at me.  Not only did I have to choose which brand of peaches to buy, I had to select between light or heavy syrup.  I stood there for a few minutes knowing that the light syrup had fewer calories but that the heavy syrup had more sugar and would probably give a more full-bodied taste to the cobbler.  Armed with this thought, it was a no-brainer.  I bought two cans of peaches in heavy syrup and wheeled myself to the check-out lane.

Once in my kitchen, I hauled out the pots and pans necessary to make my cobbler the old fashioned way, by hand.  I measured out all the ingredients, pre-heated the oven, and cracked open the cans of peaches I had just purchased.  Of course, I sampled them just to make sure they were sweet enough, and they were.  As I poured them into the bowl I took special note of the heavy syrup in which the peaches had been packed. I knew that in just under an hour, that syrup would be transformed along with the other ingredients into a wonderfully sweet dessert ready for me to dig into.  When the timer went off, I was proved right!  The cobbler came out just perfect, hot, thick, and oh so sweet!

King David knew the value of sweet things.  In fact, he understood that what sweets are to the tongue and the mouth, the word of God is to the heart and the soul.  This belief is reflected in Psalm 19:7-11 as David reflects on the goodness and the perfection of God’s word, His promises, His statutes, and His precepts. “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

David had a firm grasp of the power of God’s word in the life of the believer.  Every aspect of God’s promises and commands carries with it a wonderful effect in the life of his children.  By God’s word we are revived, we become wise, our hearts become joyful, and we receive better sight with which we gain understanding. And, if that wasn’t’ enough, David tells us that all of these things are sweeter than honey and purer than gold.  You want to talk about saving the best to last!!!!  What the heavy syrup is to the peaches, the precepts, promises, laws, and commands of God are to the soul!  They are wonderful.  Even in the midst of heated trials and difficult challenges, they remain pure, perfect, and serve as the bedrock of faith for all those who place their trust in the Lord.

Are you experiencing the sweetness of God’s word in your life today?  Do you know the wonderful promises and the peace that God’s commands, precepts, laws, and ordinances bring to the hearts of those who put their trust in him?  Putting your trust in God, however, does not guarantee a life free from difficulty.  In order to get peach cobbler, you have to mix all the ingredients and then put them in a hot oven to bake for a certain amount of time.  But when the dish comes out, it is bubbly, hot, delicious, and oh so sweet!  This is exactly what David meant when he said that God’s word was sweeter than honey.  Are you experiencing the heavy syrup of God’s promises today?