The Message in the Mashed Potatoes

Opening Verse

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:27 (KJV)

Introduction

God doesn’t always show up in the places we expect. He’s not limited to church pews, worship songs, or mountaintop moments. Sometimes, He speaks loudest through the quiet, broken, overlooked things. Things like a plate of mashed potatoes.

Devotional Story

Malcom was tired—tired in his body, tired in his spirit, tired of trying to make sense of what felt like a life stuck between two worlds. Church had ended just an hour before, but he couldn’t bring himself to go home. The prayers, the praise, the people—it all felt distant. Familiar, but somehow hollow.

So he drove.

He didn’t have a plan. Just a restless urge to go somewhere. Thirty minutes later, he pulled into an old diner off the highway. The kind of place where the menus were sticky, the lights buzzed, and the waitress knew when someone didn’t want to talk. Malcom slid into a booth near the back and stared at the menu like it held answers.

“Mashed potatoes,” he said finally, not even sure why.

They came out in a plain bowl. No parsley. No gravy. A little lumpy. Just mashed potatoes, served hot with a side of nothing special.

But as he sat there eating, something shifted.

He thought about the potatoes—how they had to be peeled, boiled, crushed. Nothing about their process was gentle. But here they were, soft, warm, still able to nourish. Still able to fill.

In that moment, Malcom felt the weight of the past few months rise to the surface—his confusion, his isolation, his wrestling with God. And then the Lord spoke to his heart:

“My covenant with you isn’t found in the polished places. It’s written in the mashed parts of your life—the places that feel broken, crushed, and passed over. That’s where I’m meeting you.”

Malcom froze.

He hadn’t expected anything holy here. But somehow, at this small diner table, with a spoonful of mashed potatoes, he knew God was with him. Not preaching. Not correcting. Just present. And that was enough.

What This Means

God often chooses the humble things to reveal Himself. Not the stage. Not the spotlight. But the crushed places. The confusing moments. The quiet bowls of mashed potatoes when you’re just trying to make it through the day.

God may be trying to show you something right now—not through lightning, but through something simple and quiet. Are you listening?

Think About This

• What have you dismissed in your life as too plain for God to use?

• Could God be writing His covenant in the broken parts of your journey?

• Are you willing to sit still long enough to recognize His presence in the ordinary?

Prayer

Lord, I’ve been searching for You in the big and the bold, but today I ask You to meet me in the small. Help me see You in the broken, crushed, and simple places of my life. Remind me that Your covenant isn’t distant or complicated. It’s near. It’s written in the parts of me I’d rather hide. Thank You for loving me there. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Closing Verse

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.”
— Hebrews 10:16 (KJV)