Recently I was sitting in the waiting area of a doctor's office when a small sign caught my eye. It rested inconspicuously on a small table offering a Keurig and an abundance of coffee flavor choices. The sign read, "but first, Coffee." Despite the seeming innocence of the display, inside my spirit was pricked and unsettled when I read this plaque. Something wasn't right.
You see...I had been feeling the pull of God to go into a period of fasting. Now in the past when I have fasted, I generally haven't given up coffee. Because...well...I love coffee. I love the flavor, the aroma, and the pick-me-up in the middle of the day. I had all of the excuses...."I'll get a severe migraine for days. I can't function without coffee. It is just a liquid. Liquids don't count. It is coffee WITH God. It's such a small thing, it doesn't matter....."
In that moment sitting at the doctor's office, God spoke so clearly to my spirit. He asked, "Do you love Me more than these?" Cut to the heart, I realized that I was holding onto this little beverage for dear life. Looking at the sign again, I recognized that God was asking me, "What is first?"
As I sought the Lord on this, I came to understand that He wasn't asking me to give up coffee forever. He was simply asking me to PUT IT IN ITS PROPER PLACE in my heart and life. I was moved to obedience from the understanding that I SHOW MY LOVE for Jesus by DOING what He asks of me.
"Jesus replied, 'All who love me will do what I say.'"-John 14:23a
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."-John 14:15
"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome," -1 John 5:3
After weening myself off of coffee for two weeks, I gave it up for the fast. And yes, I still got a splitting migraine totaling 7 days. Persevering through, I saw how addicted I had become. To my dismay, I realized that much of my enjoyment in spending early morning hours with God had to do with that cup of coffee in my hand. Was I tasting and seeing that the Lord was good alone...without additives? This altar which I had slowly and unknowingly built in my heart for something other than God was dismantled over the fast.
Your love may not be coffee. Perhaps God is putting His finger on something else in your life. This thing may not necessarily be inherently bad or evil. It is the position it carries in our heart that is the issue. What is first?
We are in a season where God is asking His children to do a self heart examination. He is inspecting the altars we have built in our hearts. Our Lord is entreating us to evaluate our priorities and motives. He is gently asking, "Do you love Me more than these?"
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