COFFEE ON THE DOCK

While praying for a friend who was struggling to breathe it dawned on me that I take air for granted. Truth be known, I take many things for granted. When something I want or need is taken away I usually become miffed. I don’t mean to be so selfish but it rises to the surface easily when I am denied something I expect to have. Selfishness is most often quietly hidden from others, but still it lurks underneath, corrupting our ability to be thankful. It is so common to my ways I cannot see it without help.  Precious Lord, forgive my presumptuous ways. In Your might, tear down the stronghold of selfishness within me. 

Much of my youth was spent in the Florida woods. A trip through a subtropical forest is filled with thorns, sharp-edged plants, dangerous snakes, huge spiders and seemingly impassible underbrush, but there is always a way through. Spiritual breakthrough is no different. It may be treacherous, obscured, laden with challenges and setbacks, but breakout is possible.  Inward liberty precedes outward liberty.  With God’s help, my perspective can be transformed this very moment. Lord, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life; in You there is all that I need for my journey to complete freedom.

Modern culture has substituted “celebrity” for “honor”. The Bible teaches the value of honor, but warns against the dangers of popularity and self-centered aggrandizement of people. Giving honor to whom it is due in a biblical manner is life-lifting and ultimately leads us to worship of God, while adulation of celebrity leads us to personal fantasies and self-centered idol worship. The need to honor is hard-wired into our souls, but we must guard our hearts from the foolishness of celebrity seeking. Father, help me steer clear of idol worship. Show me the right path of honoring You as I honor others.

The first time I saw a rose bush properly pruned it stunned me. I watched as a friend hacked away at a healthy looking plant. When he finished the pruned plant was a stick-like shadow of its former self. I thought it was ruined but I was wrong. As it turned out, it grew beautiful and productive later that spring. It seems like most everything is being pruned in my life, things within and around me. While it is uncomfortable to face this process, springtime’s bounty is surely ahead. Father, You are the Great Gardener and I am the bush. I am thankful for the pruning and welcome Your holy work. 

One of God’s biblical monikers is “God of All Grace”. Even a cursory study of Scripture unfolds a vision of grace that extends far beyond grace for salvation alone. He that spins the worlds on His fingers has sufficient grace apportioned for every person and every moment. Yesterday’s grace will not do for today, tomorrow’s grace cannot be coerced into early arrival. Like diurnally apportioned manna in the desert, grace comes for each day, each instant, each need. Gracious Lord, help me to accept and walk in Your provision of grace today. I trust Your perfect distribution of the grace You give.     

It is convenient to assign blame to everything else, but what comes out of me is merely spillover from what is inside. This is unsettling. After so much time and so many attempts to transform myself, I again must face the truth, I am still a work in progress and only God can finish the work. I am sure God can fix me, but when I think their must be an easier way I stumble off the right path only to end up slogging through mud. Father, my words are insufficient, so I offer a borrowed prayer as my own: Have Your own way, Lord. You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Your will while I am waiting, yielded and still. 

Palmettos are an attractive element of tropical fauna. Although the palm plant lends a tropical touch to landscaping, it multiplies quickly and is very difficult to remove when necessary; the key is to deal with it when it is young. In the same manner, when God sows kingdom seeds in us the enemy swiftly attempts to uproot new spiritual growth while it is in its infancy. He does not want to later face what he can destroy while it is but a seedling. Lord of the Harvest, Sower of Good Seed; prepare my heart to receive your bounty. Sanctify and guard my soul to be holy ground for Your holy seed.