O Lord, Turn Me

  

 Dear Reader,  

This morning, I reflected on a brief but powerful verse from the prophet Hosea:     "Ephraim is a cake not turned."  — Hosea 7:8  

At first, the image seems almost humorous: a cake left unturned, burned on one side and raw on the other. 

It has been near the fire, but not long enough to be transformed all the way through. 

The longer I considered the image, the more I saw myself in it. 

In his morning meditation on this verse, Charles Spurgeon suggested that many of us resemble Ephraim. We may experience partial change while leaving other areas untouched by God's grace: obedience in one area, resistance in another; compassion in one place, pride in another; faith in one season, fear in the next. 

The question is not whether we are perfect, but whether we are willing to be transformed. 

Through faith and recovery, I have learned that God rarely changes everything at once. Most of us come to Him with rough edges, hidden wounds, old fears, and deeply rooted habits. Some are obvious; others remain hidden even from ourselves. 

In Alcoholics Anonymous, Step Six asks us to become entirely ready for God to remove our defects of character. Step Seven invites us to humbly ask Him to do so. 

The words "entirely ready" have always challenged me. Partial readiness is not true surrender. 

This is where we strengthen our resolve to release our most secretly cherished habits, let go of anger and self-righteousness, and surrender the fear that keeps us grasping for control. I know from experience that this is difficult work. 

As I reflected further, another thought came to mind: a cake not turned is not only raw on one side; it is also burned on the other. Sometimes our greatest weaknesses are not where we feel weak, but where we believe we are strong—in our spirituality, our wisdom, our service, or even our sobriety.  

If we are not careful, even God's blessings can become sources of self-reliance. Jesus often showed great mercy to those who openly struggled, yet He spoke some of His strongest words to those who believed they had already arrived. 

The burned side can be just as dangerous as the uncooked one. That is why humility remains central to both recovery and discipleship.  

Through joys and sorrows, successes and failures, victories and defeats, I have come to understand this truth more deeply: God is not finished with me yet. That awareness keeps me humble, and I believe it is true for all of us. 

We are not condemned when we remain willing to change and keep moving forward in grace and action. 

When the meditation ended, a simple prayer remained in my heart: 

"Lord, turn me."  

Turn the parts of me that still resist You.  

Turn the places where fear has taken the place of faith.  

Turn the corners of my heart that have not yet known the warmth of Your grace.  

Turn me until Your love reaches every part of my life.  

None of us is fully finished in this life.  

Yet when we remain willing, God continues His work.  

One day at a time.  

One lesson at a time. 

One turning at a time.  

With gratitude,  

Amen  

🙏🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️ 

  

🙏🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️