LET'S ALL BE COFFEE

A teen girl went to her mom, complaining about how hard life was—friends, school, and romantic troubles. “It’s just too much to handle!” she complained. Her mother led her into the kitchen where she put three pots of water on the stove to boil. Placing an egg in the first, carrots in the second, and ground coffee in the third, she allowed them to cook.

The daughter then examined each item. The egg was hard-boiled, the carrots were soft, and the coffee was a rich, aromatic liquid. The mom explained that each item had experienced the same fire, but had all responded differently. The carrots went in hard and strong, but came out soft and weak. The egg’s interior had been weak and soft, but when subjected to the heat, it hardened. But the coffee was unique. Rather than adapting to its environment, the coffee transformed the environment around it. “Which do you want to be?” her mom asked. “Eggs, carrots, or coffee?”

In life, we’re all going to face the fires of affliction. First Peter 1:7 states that, “the proof of your faith…though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor” (NASB).

Enduring adversity is a given. We don’t get to choose when, what, or how it happens. What we do get to choose is how we’ll respond when we face the fire. Will we be like eggs, hardening our heart? Or carrots, allowing our afflictions to weaken us? Or we can choose to respond as coffee, making our world better, as the heat is turned up.

Think of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They were illegally arrested, severely beaten, and thrown in a dungeon with their feet in stocks. How did they respond? Hardening their hearts like eggs? Whining like a couple of carrots? Or transforming their environment like coffee? Verse 25 reads, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” An earthquake then loosened the prisoners’ shackles, the jailer rushed in, and seeing the power of God, was ultimately saved. Responding to their problems with praise, rather than complaint, transformed their environment.

We don’t have to like our circumstances. No one enjoys being put through the fire. But how we respond? That’s up to us. We all have a choice: eggs, carrots, or coffee?  

Principle:  We have a choice in the way we respond to our problems.

Ponder:

●      In what areas of life do the fires of affliction trouble you most?

●      How can you change your mindset to respond to problems in a positive manner?  

Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Acts 16:16-34.

Prayer: Lord God, forgive me for the times when I complain. Help me to respond like coffee—transforming my environment into something better.

Check out my books Thriving in Quarantine and Thriving in Troubled Times on Amazon. Here are the links: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BGDW2NV     

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