Where’S God?: Finding Him in the Small Stuff

Finding God at Home

Life One Cup at a Time

I make my coffee one cup at a time.

The novelty of it is still new to me.

We splurged recently and bought one of those new-fangled, single-serve coffeemakers…we just pop a small, plastic pack of coffee into the machine, push a button, and a few minutes later, voila’…the cup is full.

Now I can enjoy a different kind of coffee with every cup…

…one cup may be Nantucket Blend, and the next may be Donut Shop. Or, I may choose the Columbia Fair Trade in the morning, and the Newman’s Own in the evening.

I can even choose not to have coffee at all, and pick hot chocolate instead, or hot tea, or even hot apple cider.

I can also use the coffeemaker as a quick way to make hot-water for any instant beverage, like instant Chai tea, for example, or for an old-fashioned tea bag, or even for my favorite Starbucks instant coffee.

For the first time ever, I don’t have to drink the same kind of coffee as everyone else. If someone wants the House Blend, and I want French Roast, fine. If they want Sumatran Reserve, and I want Foglifter, no problem.

This is a real advance over the old days, when coffee came only one pot at a time, instead of one cup at a time. Back then everyone had to share whatever happened to be in the pot at the time…no changes were allowed until either the coffee in the pot was gone, or it just got too cold to drink.

The one pot at a time coffee wasn’t nearly as much fun as the one cup at a time coffee….and not nearly as satisfying.

During my one pot days, I would often have to stop by a local coffee house on my way to the office to satisfy my coffee urge, spending way too much money for a fancy latte that tasted great, but cost a pretty penny.

Of course, those small packs of coffee for our new machine are not cheap, either, and if you are a heavy coffee drinker, they may be too expensive too. But, I reach my limit after one or two cups a day, which is still less expensive than stopping by the coffeehouse.

So, each morning I open the coffee cupboard in my kitchen and ask, What do you have in store for me today?

At this point, I am still experimenting with new and different flavors of coffee, trying to figure out which one I like best.

There are days when I am so happy with the coffee-of-the-day, because it is exactly what I had hoped for.

There are other days, though, when I am disappointed, because the coffee I get is not good at all.

So each day is a coffee adventure.

In a way, it reminds me of my daily adventure with God.

I come to Him each morning and ask Him to fill up my cup with His presence. I ask Him, What do you have in store for me today, Lord?

And each day, He pours a different cup of coffee for me to drink.

Sometimes, I get the good coffee.

On those days, everything goes right.

I have a great day at work. I have a lovely day at home. I get everything done that needs to be done. There is good news in the mail…good shows on TV…good food on the table…a good phone call from a good friend…and at the end of the day, I get a good night’s sleep.

Sometimes, however, God pours bitter coffee into my cup.

On those days, things start off badly, and soon go from bad to worse.

I have problems at the office…something starts leaking at home…a car breaks down…an unexpected bill shows up in the mailbox…the internet service goes off-line…an uninvited wild animal helps himself to our garbage cans…leftovers for dinner…and a night of tossing and turning without much sleep.

Or all of the above…and more.

And I wonder why God can’t give me the good coffee every day.

Why does He sometimes pour me a cup of bitter coffee instead?

The answer is because He is NOT the Great Coffeemaker in heaven, there just to dispense the exact flavor of coffee I want in my own little coffee cup each day for my selfish desires.

If He gave me nothing but the best coffee every day, then I would want Him as my heavenly Father only because I want to get the good coffee.

There would be no room for faith.

There would be no room for faith because my motivation to become His child would be something else other than recognizing Him for Who He is and what He did for me on the cross.

Instead, I would be motivated to follow Him for the blessing of the coffee…the blessing of getting a good day, every day.

True faith, on the other hand, requires my dedication to Him, my obedience to Him, my love for Him…even on those days when the coffee is bad.

My faith is not based on a daily cup of good coffee from His hand. Rather, it is based on my response to His love for me…love which required His life, freely given, to open the way for me to join Him in heaven someday.

He did all of this even though I did not deserve it.

Here is how Paul described it to the church in Rome…

¹ Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:1-5, New Living Bible)

Ask God to pour you a cup of coffee today.

See what He gives you.

No matter what kind of coffee ends up in your cup, love Him for it…because of what He has ALREADY given you.

Power On, Power Off

The power went out at our house the other day.

Again.

Usually, when the power goes out, it happens at a time when you think it possibly could happen…like during a thunderstorm…or on a windy day…or in the middle of a big snow.

But this time, it happened on a bright, sunny day…at a time when you would least expect it.

One minute, we had all the electricity we needed and life was as normal as could be…then, suddenly, without any warning, it was gone.

Boom!

Everything in the house went dead…

…no TV…no refrigerator…no air conditioning…no internet…no microwave…no lights…no washer or dryer…no oven or stove…no garage door opener…no garbage disposal…no dishwasher…no freezer…no digital clocks.

There had been no time to prepare for it. No way to anticipate it. No way to escape it.

And no way to undo it once it was done.

Everything was as normal as could be one minute…and then, in a split-second, nothing was normal.

To be honest, without power in the house, we felt a bit powerless ourselves.

How do we get the car out of the garage?

How do we keep the fresh food fresh and the frozen food frozen?

How do we cook dinner?

How do we see when it gets dark?

How do we entertain ourselves once our computer batteries are drained?

How do we keep the house cool?

And, perhaps the biggest question of all…How long will this last?

Of course, we knew that these were all just minor irritations…nothing life-threatening. So we weren’t fearful in any way, just bothered.

Our thinking was something like this:

Here we go again.

Are you kidding me?

Not now!

Why?

And the countdown started…when would life would get back to normal again? The sooner, the better.

In many ways, it made me think about how surprisingly and suddenly things will happen someday in the future when Jesus comes again.

On that day, millions of people will lose their power, just like we did at our house.

Boom!

Without warning.

With no time to change it or escape it.

And with no way to undo it once it is done.

The power they lose will not be the power of electricity in their homes…it will be the power they thought they had to live their lives their own way, without a relationship with Jesus Christ.

They will lose the power they thought they had to make their own rules, their own reality and their own spirituality.

They will lose the power they thought they had to find their own way to heaven.

They will lose the power they thought they had to make this life so much more important than the life to come.

When that day comes, the biggest question will not be, How long will this last? but…

Why did I wait so long to take Jesus seriously?

As soon as it happens, they will realize that they waited too long.

And the fear they will experience…how could it be even measured or imagined by us now?

Once God flips the switch that sends Jesus back to earth, the light is out for good in their lives.

From that point on, all the power will be His.

Our Savior’s.

Jesus’.

The good news, for Christians, is that our real power finally will come ON when that day comes.

The power of living every day in the presence of Christ.

The power of love which flows from Him and surrounds us forever in a place where everyone around us cares about us deeply.

The power of joy and peace and fulfillment and health and hope and mercy and perfection and provision and happiness and contentment…every moment forever.

And so much more.

For us, once God flips that switch, our Light comes on and will never go out.

Here is how that day is described in the Bible…

¹-³I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.

⁴-⁸But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

⁹-¹¹God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

Someday soon, God will flip the power switch.

When that happens, will it be power on for you…or power off?

NOW is the time to answer that question.

NOT later.

Lists, Lists and More Lists

My house is filled with lists.

Grocery list…posted on the front door of the refrigerator.

Things-to-do list…scattered over the kitchen table.

Prayer list…beside my favorite prayer spot on the living room sofa.

Handyman list…kitchen desk.

Books-I-want-to-read list…basement desk.

People-I-need-to-call list…on the stack of papers by my chair.

Vitamin supplements-to-try list…underneath the bottles of vitamin supplements.

Recipes-we-need-to-try list…in our recipe cabinet.

Packing list for business trips…bedroom.

Birthday list of relatives…my wife has it somewhere.

Phone list of important numbers…posted on the bulletin board

List of family Social Security numbers…in the security box.

We also have lists of dog food and cat litter we want to try…pizzas we want to order…music we want to listen to…places we want to go…gifts we want to buy…clothes we want to order…hand lotions we want to sample…and magazines we want to subscribe to…

…and more.

When the kids were younger, we had a whole different list of lists…back-to-school shopping list, Santa’s Christmas list, sports and school activities list, doctor and dentist appointments list, team parents list, school parents list, haircut appointments list, school holidays list…

…and more.

I know I ought to get all of these lists loaded onto my smart phone, or my computer, or my iPod, or my Kindle…

…I should probably add that to my things-to-do list.

Actually, we all love lists.

We enjoy David Letterman’s Top 10 List, no matter how ridiculous it is sometimes.

We buy magazines for the latest list of the world’s most beautiful, or the world’s best dressed, or the world’s wealthiest, or the world’s most powerful, or the world’s most handsome.

The Guinness Book of World Records is basically a whole volume of lists.

With the click of a mouse, we can Google any list known to man…lists of greatest recipes, best computers, most delicious gourmet restaurants, family-friendliest vacation spots, lowest maintenance appliances, and the most popular plumbers…

…and more.

In my life, there have been lists which did not include my name, even though I hoped they would…like the 8th grade basketball team list after tryouts.

And there have also been lists which did include my name, even though I wish they hadn’t…like the list of the clean-up committee for my fraternity’s fall formal dance.

Did you know that the Bible is full of lists too?

The best-known Biblical list, of course, is the list we call the Ten Commandments.

But that barely scratches the surface.

The Old Testament has one list after another, often in rapid-fire succession…

…it has lots of lists of lots of people who did lots of things.

There are lists of the leaders who accompanied Moses from Egypt…a list of spies sent out to scout the Promised Land…a list of David’s mighty men…lists of men who helped rebuild the walls around Jerusalem when the Israelites returned from exile, and a list of men who tried to stop them…

…and more.

You will also find Old Testament lists of do’s and don’ts…lists of foods the Jews were allowed to eat, and lists of foods they were not allowed to eat…lists of how to handle certain medical conditions like leprosy…lists of acceptable sacrifices and offerings…lists of census numbers…

…and more.

The New Testament has its own set of lists…lists of hard-to-pronounce names in the genealogy in Matthew…list of apostles…list of places Paul traveled…list of difficulties Paul suffered while he was traveling…lists of end-time signs and prophecies…

…and more.

Since lists are so prevalent in our lives today, and