Do you have something you've been praying and believing for and it seems like nothing is improving? Oftentimes we give up too soon when our breakthrough could be just moments away.
Any coffee lovers out there like me? To me, there is nothing quite like that first cup of creamy, steaming, hot coffee ………. on a Saturday morning, while I’m still in my pajamas. As much as I like coffee though, it’s actually the whole ritual that goes along with it that I love most. First thing in the morning sitting on my sofa, while the world and my house is still quiet, my hands wrapped around a warm mug of caffeinated goodness. But not just any mug. It has to be the perfect mug – the kind that fits in your hands just right. You know what I’m talking about. My daughter teases me because I won’t drink my coffee out of just any ol’ cup. In fact, this past fall we went on a weekend getaway with my sister and our girls and, as you may have guessed, a couple of my favorite mugs went along with us. Because mountains, pine trees and cold weather just call for it! And here’s a little secret. My daughter won’t admit it, but she asked if she could borrow one of those perfect mugs for her coffee too!
One Saturday morning not too long ago, I started preparing for my coffee ritual and got this brilliant idea to descale my Keurig first. Not sure what made me decide to do it except the fact that it hadn’t been done in a while … or maybe never. Descaling is supposed to make it run better and taste better because it cleans everything out of there. But that’s not what happened. In fact, it was just the opposite and completely stopped working! I turned if off and on, looked up YouTube videos and eventually took the whole thing apart. That might give you a little idea of how badly I wanted my coffee. The crazy thing is I could have made it another way. I had iced coffee, a regular coffee pot and a French press that would have done the job, but now I was on a mission! One video I watched suggested blowing as hard as you could on the reservoir overflow. So I did, over and over. Nothing. I had pretty much given up on it and determined I would call my son to fix it. But something inside me decided to give it one last try. This time, though, something changed. I started to feel the resistance break and slowly water began trickling out a little bit at a time. So I kept blowing and FINALLY whatever was in there completely released! This was an exciting moment! I made my coffee and the ritual began.
As I sat there quietly sipping and enjoying the victory, I heard the Lord say “There’s a message in this moment”. How many times in life do we pray and believe for something and when we hit a roadblock, it gets too tough, or it doesn’t appear to happen in the time or the way we think it should, we start to get discouraged? We think about giving up or, even worse, we get impatient and end up settling. I could have settled for coffee a different way that day, took a shortcut and purchased a new machine, or handed the job over to my son. Had I purchased a new machine, it would have cost me something I wouldn’t have otherwise had to pay. Had I gone around it, I would have had iced coffee or a different type of brew. You see, we can sometimes get to where we’re going when we take shortcuts or go around things, but the end result isn’t the same. So although I would have ended up with coffee, it wouldn’t have been the coffee I could have had.
My "fight" that day was for the love of coffee. Really? I went through all of that effort for the love of coffee?? It was at least an hour before I finally got to pour that first cup by the time I pulled the machine apart and put it all back together again. I was so close to giving up, but in a last ditch effort decided to push through the struggle and frustration …..all for the love of coffee.
Ephesian 6:13 (ESV) "....and having done all, to stand firm."
So today, I ask you, what is your fight? What is that difficult thing you’re facing that requires some perseverance, some determination, some tenacity? Do you have something you’ve been praying and believing for and it seems that nothing is improving, or it may even be looking worse than it did when you first started? Are you at the point of giving up or looking for an easier way around? Think about the title of your message today: For the love of my children; for the love of my spouse; for the love of my health. Maybe you're working a challenging nine to five job or even serving in an area of ministry and you're just tired. What is it that will stir up your persistence, your fortitude to keep fighting? Determine to do whatever it takes and keep pushing. Don’t give up just before the resistance starts to break. You never know, you could be just moments away from celebrating your victory!
Scriptures
Ephesians 6:13b (ESV) “….and having done all, to stand firm.”
I Corinthians 15:17 (ESV) - “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) - "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
Isaiah 40:29 (ESV) - "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength."
Prayer:
Lord, Your word encourages me that after doing all I can do, to continue to stand firm. I may get tired and discouraged sometimes, but Your word also tells me that Your strength is made perfect in my times of weakness. I choose to trust You and to rely on Your strength, not my own. You are the One who gives me the victory.