Did you ever realize how a good cup of coffee can change someone's day? I'll admit there are mornings that a cup of tea just will not suffice. Sometimes the sleep is slow in wearing off. Sometimes it's been a late night and an early morning and a cup of java is needed. Most of the time, coffee just taste ridiculously good.
This morning, instead of staying in the house for my cup of coffee, I meandered down to a coffee shop I hadn't tried before. It's a hard thing to try out a new place. It can be a bit scary. We like to stay in routine and with the familiar coffee and baristas. What if I got to a new place and their coffee isn't as good? What if it is just a bad experience with rude baristas and no seats available when you don't want take away? What if they are so pretentious I don't understand what's on their menu? All of these are perfectly normal fears but when we take a chance, sometimes you find lovely baristas, wonderful coffee, and latte art.
In some ways, this experience with coffee can be very similar to our quiet times. I am a master at the routine. For me, there is a lot of comfort in keeping with a similar routine in the morning. I know I'm going to make my coffee or tea with two sugars and a dash of milk, make toast or grab cereal for breakfast, grab a seat on the couch and begin to read my Bible. I really look forward to that time. My mornings spent with God like that are great! They are awesome! But how often do those things just become routine? We read the same amount of chapters, we sit in the same spot, we pray for the same things, and we spend the same amount of time with him every morning. Now, none of these things are bad. God shows up in those moments, he speaks, he rebukes, he loves, and he brings his presence. But at the same time, doesn't that sometimes limit God? We aren't creative enough to listen to find out where he wants to meet with us. We aren't brave enough to ask him what he would want us to do differently.
At times, he simply wants to change up the order of our quiet time. Maybe we aren't supposed to read all the chapters we were intending to or maybe we are just supposed to have a prayer time. If that's what he's saying, then do it! But God has been challenging me to not make that time stagnant. Yes, he can speak to me if I do the same thing every day but he also challenges me to step out in faith and let him speak in different ways. This way, I give him room to move. God is a God of creativity and he speaks to us each individually in a myriad of ways and I love that! I'm so thankful that how he speaks to me is vastly different then how he speaks to my best friend or my roommate or my mother. He knows what we need, when we need it.
But just like a good cup of coffee, sometimes we need change. Sometimes we need to try out something new, take a leap of faith. I took a leap of faith with a new coffee shop and I found lovely coffee and wonderful baristas. My Bible and notebook had come with me and as I sat there people watching, God showed up with words of truth, discipline, and hope. Could I have found that on the couch in the morning? Possibly. But I didn't. I found it in the early afternoon in a busy café, surrounded by people minding their own business taking a break from their days with a cup of coffee. But God's presence filled that place. He changed the atmosphere because he was there with me. How amazingly cool is that?! Thank the Lord that he is everywhere. Thank the Lord that he moves and he meets us wherever. He meets us in the rain, in the sun. He meets us on the street, in a park, in our house, in our rooms. He speaks through nature and through people. We just have to take the time to listen and perhaps change our structures a bit as well.
So . . . feel like trying a new cup of coffee tomorrow? Perhaps you'll learn something you never thought you would.
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