Trust God and Make Coffee

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

On Sunday mornings, in most Christian churches we acknowledge, "Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God". Depending on the denomination we may use different words but at some point in the service, we give thanks to God for the many blessings he has given us.

But lets admit it. Some days, "thanks" is the last thing we feel. It is really hard to follow the apostle Paul's advice to the Thessalonians every day of our lives. When pain, illness, death, forced separation from loved ones, divorce, job loss, day-to-day stresses, and other troubles get in our way how can we possibly give thanks and praise to God? We would much rather rant and rave at God for the injustice of it all (and we can rant and rave - God can take it). We cry for his help, we beg for his mercy, but give thanks? Yes. Give thanks - and pray without ceasing.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul also writes, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies." (Romans 4:8-10)

That's why we can give thanks. Because even in our darkest moments, through every trial and tragedy that life throws in our path, God is with us. He will not leave us nor forsake us. He is not deaf. He hears our cries, he feels our tears, and his tears mix with ours. I disagree with the adage, "If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it." God doesn't bring us to any of the bad stuff that happens. God doesn't cause bad things to happen; Sin and the sins we commit do. And sometimes things just happen for reasons we may never understand.

Regardless of why garbage comes into our lives, God takes the ugliness of our world and, if we let him, he will use it to remold us to make us stronger and better than we have been. God wants us all to be happy and he will do everything in his power to get us to a happier life. We just have to let him do it. Praying constantly and giving thanks for the blessings we are given - even in the face of tragedy - helps us to heal and to grow into the people God wants us to be.

In my apartment is a beautiful letterbox wall hanging with the adage, "Trust God and Make Coffee". That saying comes from a very difficult time in my life when it became the mantra that kept me going. Shortly before that time, a friend had sent me an email about a carrot, an egg, and a coffee bean. the jist of that email was that under adversity (hot water) the carrot becomes soft and falls apart, the egg becomes hardboiled, and the coffee bean changes the water around it into something new and delicious. God wants to help us make coffee - we just need to trust him.

We need to pray constantly to stay connected with God, rejoice in the good things God has given us, and give thanks that we are not alone. God is with us. He will always be with us. If we trust him, he will help us to make a great cup of coffee; full and rich with great homemade flavor that is 'good to the last drop'.

In good times and bad we need to follow Paul's advice to the Thessalonians "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus" that we have a full, rich life. God can't get us there if we are not connected with him. And he can't help us make coffee if we don't trust him enough to give him the thanks and praise that are due.

May God bless us and give us all full, rich cups of coffee.