Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates

Forrest Gump once said, Life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get.

 

I have been working my way through a box of chocolates this evening, but the thing with most chocolates these days is that you know exactly what you're going to get because they come with a small description of the contents of each chocolate.  If there's something that you don't like, you can avoid it.  Equally, if there are one or two that you are particularly fond of, you can easily make sure that you get to enjoy them before anyone else.

 

Sometimes I wish life was like a box of chocolates.  It would nice to be able to select the things that you'd like in your life and to avoid those things that you're not that keen on.

 

Unfortunately, however, we don't get to pick and choose our way through life.  Nor do we get to read all the 'ingredients' of different events and circumstances before they happen.

 

But whilst we don't know what is coming our way, God does.  And He remains the same throughout it all.  Constant, faithful, on our side.

 

"When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour."

 

[Isaiah 43:2-3 NLT]

 

Whilst we don't know what life will bring us, we do know the One who will walk with us through everything that life throws at us.

 

 

The Frustrations Of Unpredictable Weather

I have found the inconsistencies and unpredictabilities of the recent weather forecasts irritating.  Where snow is concerned, I want to know if I can get excited about it or not.

 

I'm not interested in "maybe" or "possibly" so far as the weather is concerned.  I don't want a percentage of the likelihood of snow or rain or sleet.  I want the actual facts.  I want to know what to expect.

 

Guessing is no use to me.

 

It's a bit like in one of Michael McIntyre's sketches where he says how whenever you ask someone for the time, if they don't know, they will still guess.  I think it's about three.

 

He says, I didn't ask you to guess the time.  I can do that myself.

 

Similarly, I don't need a weather forecast to guess the weather.  I can do that myself.

 

I appreciate that predicting the weather isn't that straightforward or predictable, so no matter how much I want to know for definite what the weather is doing, that won't happen.

 

Still, it would be useful wouldn't it? 

 

You'd know what shoes/coat to wear.  You'd know whether to bother straightening your hair or, more importantly, not to waste time straightening it if it is soon to face the rain.

 

It would make planning for life much easier.

 

But unfortunately, it is not possible.

 

I suppose the weather forecast is an act of faith: will we believe it or not? 

 

Similarly, our walk with God is an act of faith: I don't always know what's going to happen in my life.  I am not perfectly prepared for every eventuality.  But I don't need to be when I'm trusting in God.

 

Faith isn't so much about what you can see, but about what you choose to see and about who you trust to show you.

 

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

 

[Hebrews 11:1 NLT]
 

I will never get the perfect weather forecast that tells me exactly what I want to know.  There will always be an element of faith and trust involved.  And, this side of heaven, I will never get to know for sure what God is planning on doing in my life - I will never have the perfect 'life forecast'. 

But whilst I don't know what might happen, I know the One who knows.  And that's enough for me.