COFFEE ON THE DOCK

Heartbreaks develop tentacles that reach into our whole being. Particularly painful is the regret associated with perceived failures. Heartbreaks, and the regrets they foster do no good unless they become motivation for growth. Heartaches placed into the Master’s hands become pathways for spiritual progress. Lord, You make all things new. I’m joyfully growing one heartache at a time.

A sense of Christian duty drives much of what I do. This seems fine on the surface, since I owe God everything. Each day I must repeatedly choose to do the right thing for duty’s sake. There is a more noble way: God seeks those who DELIGHT to do His will, those who out of grateful, love-filled hearts make His work first priority. Father, I desire to join the ranks of those who move from duty to delight.

As it was for Abraham, it is for us, every step of faith holds the promise of inheritance; eyes lifted, territory added.  Will I depend upon my known resources alone, or will I hear and obey, trusting, advancing? I choose the latter. Freezing fear and doubt have never worked. Stepping forward in yielded obedience is the only way. O Lord my Rock, strengthen my resolve to fling myself forward into Your will.

We install security alarms in our cars, homes and businesses; build fences and hire police and armies to secure our lives. However, the most dangerous instrument of harm and dissention is my tongue. Guarding my lips guards my life. Both life and death proceed from our mouths. There is no lip alarm; safety begins in the heart out of which the mouth speaks. Lord, You have my heart and lips; purify both.

I sometimes envy the arrogant. Unbelievers and believers alike can surround their hearts with selfishness and seemingly prosper, free of common burdens. Then I enter the sanctuary of God’s Word and Presence and come to my senses. Happiness is no durable substitute for joy. The temporary cannot compare to the eternal. Lord, forgive my bouts of temporary insanity.

Advent means “arrival or coming.” The roughly four-week Season of Advent that begins this Sunday is a time of anticipation, of preparation, of longing for Christ’s presence. Advent is the prologue of the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD. It is the preface to the narrative of God’s passionate pursuit of the people He made for His love. Advent is the preamble to the chronicle of our redemption. Lord, I await.

Genuine thankfulness mostly eludes me. Somehow gratitude quickly morphs into another version of my incessant need to be happy. But today I awake with authentic thankfulness: my amazing wife, family, friends, victories, lessons, hope, faith, still waters, tall mountains, blue skies and stormy passages alike. God is good and His mercies never cease. Father, to You I give thanks.