I Like Coffee.
I could probably end this blog right there…
Only kidding! It seems that coffee has somehow become a running theme here, so I thought it only appropriate to share with you an interaction I had with the Lord a few weeks back.
During a group book study, a discussion started about how easy it is to lose sight of who we truly are. Whether it is because of lies from people around us or lies based in our own guilt and shame, we can forget (or even fail to discover) who it is that God intended us to be when he formed us in the womb. We went home with an assignment that night to ask God: "Who am I? What do you think of me? What's my real name?"
I have had those special times in the Lord's presence where he tells me what he thinks of me. He is always tender, even when I come in shame and expecting something different. This time, as I went before the Lord, I immediately heard, "My Sweet One". He has called me that before, but now I had a specific question burning in my heart and I wanted to know more. "How do you see me?"
I suddenly saw a large coffee cup before me.
I have to insert a confession here. I don't actually like coffee…even the good stuff. I think it is bitter and leaves a bad aftertaste. However, add some sugar to that coffee and it suddenly becomes, in my opinion, something absolutely delightful.
I watched as sugar was poured into this coffee cup and I heard His gentle voice, "You are my Sweet One. You carry love into places where there was once only bitterness. You carry joy into places formerly marked by weeping and you bring hope where there was once despair." I immediately thought of my favorite verse:
"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" Isaiah 52:7
My heart leapt at this because it is what God created me for. It is what he has put in me. Although it is sometimes hard to believe that God could use me in this way, the truth is that I carry Jesus in me and what he has done with my life is something beautiful. It is a truth I can accept because he knows just how to speak to me! I won't ever forget the image of that coffee cup.
I believe it is too easy to forget who we are in Jesus, but it is also a very simple thing to ask for the truth. If it has been awhile since you have asked (or especially if never at all), I would encourage you to do so. The One who created you knows you best.
"Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
