Coffee With The Lord

Sooner or later it will happen to us all… God’s word will say something we don’t understand… Or the Lord will require something of us that offends our sensibilities… Or something will happen to us – something God allows – that we have a terrible time processing! And the issue will be, how are we going to respond – what are we going to do about it? Will we continue to trust, follow, and love the Lord, or will we be offended, “abandon ship,” and drift away in disappointment and disillusionment?

It happened to some who had begun following Jesus in the New Testament – the fact is, some of the “apostles” were even at risk!

Jesus had said some perplexing things – some things that challenged the sensibilities of His followers – some things they found it difficult to process… “When many of His disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in Himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life! But there are some of you who do not believe… This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God!’”(John 6:60–69 ESV)

Listen, I am certain that somewhere, sometime, something will happen, something will come my way in my walk with the Lord that I don’t understand, something I find difficult to process, something that even offends me. What will I do in that situation and circumstance? Will I allow what happens to become an insurmountable barrier to my trust in the Lord? Will I in disillusionment draw back, distance myself from the Lord and cease to follow Him in faith and love? Oh, I pray I won’t! Instead, may my response echo and mirror that of Peter in this instance, “Lord, to whom shall I go! You are the One who has the words that lead to eternal life! I have believed, and have come to know – regardless of what life brings – that you are the Holy One of God!”

In the early days in rural America cisterns were often dug to hold water where wells were not readily available. In addition to other things, these cisterns provided water for drinking for rural families. The fact is, there may still be a few of them still around in use.
If you had a cistern, it became very important to protect what was allowed to enter the cistern. It was not uncommon to do this with a grating of some sort. The reason? The water in the cistern, if unprotected, could bring disease and even death. Its purpose, however, was to provide life giving water.

I think Proverbs 4:20-27 may draw on this imagery, picturing the “heart” (the spiritual, emotional and mental center of life) as the reservoir from which everything in life flows and urging protection for what is allowed to enter it.

Here is what it says…

“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE, FOR FROM IT FLOW THE SPRINGS OF LIFE. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” (ESV)

Did you notice what the writer of Proverbs has to say about the importance of the “heart” to the rest of life? He asserts that EVERYTHING flows from what is allowed to enter the heart. He urges vigilance and care over what is allowed to enter the heart! He identifies a couple of entrance points to the “heart” that deserve vigilant attention… ears (vs. 20), and eyes (vss. 21, 25). Then after his central emphasis on keeping the heart in verse 23, he gives attention to what comes out of “heart” … What comes out of our mouths (vs. 24), and where our feet lead us – our actions or behavior.

My cry after reading this passage from Proverbs this morning during “Coffee with the Lord?” Oh Lord, help me to understand the importance of “keeping my heart” and guarding what enters it through what my eyes behold and what my ears hear! Help me to remember that what comes out – in terms of speech and actions – are the consequence of what I allow to enter my heart! My decision: Gonna “keep my heart with all vigilance!” I’m faced with the reality that what comes out is either life-giving or destructive. I want it to be life-giving, don’t you?

Does it pay to serve the Lord – to live righteously? There are many voices in our culture that have abandoned the principle that it does. They live for self (“me-first”), they live for pleasure (“you only go around once”), and they live for money and possessions (“the bottom line” is what matters). But there are those who have chosen to forgo immediate, temporary aggrandizement and live with their eye on their eternal future. They’ve decided to live their lives to please God here and now and trust Him to reward their future. So what is the outcome of choices like that? I read about it this morning during “Coffee with the Lord” in my Bible…

“Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on… But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” (Proverbs 4:14-19)

Don’t know how you’ve decided to live your life. I think I’ll listen to the advice of the writer of Proverbs! Right now the payoff for living righteously may seem like the first light of dawn. But the future of that pathway will end up like the full light of day! I believe living to please the Lord will pay off!