Morning Coffee, Morning Communion

I start most mornings by making my favorite cup of coffee. It starts with some hand-roasted beans. I roast them by the half-pound on our BBQ propane burner using a Whirly-Pop popcorn maker. I grind the beans by hand with a manual grinder. I measure precise grams of ground coffee to precise grams of water. I preheat my mug because I enjoy my coffee as hot as I can get it. I use a one-serving French press because I’m the only regular coffee drinker in our family. I lightly heat the heavy cream I will add to it, and work it a bit with a handheld frother. I usually drink only one large cup of coffee a day, and this is my unhurried way to prepare it.

Why bother giving you all this detail about my morning cup? Because I then take that cup to our home library where I work most days, and I take time to reflect on a passage of scripture. I try to make it unhurried, even when the day is full of appointments and projects. The other day, it was a couple of passages from the prophet Isaiah. I sipped my coffee, and I enjoyed the passage. Here is what I journaled that morning.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

¹¹From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do.

Isaiah 46:10-11

The Lord, my Father through Jesus, knows the end from the beginning. He knows the beginning of my life and the end of my life. He knows the beginning of Unhurried Living and its end. He knows the beginning of our marriage and the end. He knows it all from ancient times until eternity future. What is ancient history to me is just a few minutes ago for him.

And he not only knows everything and all time, but he makes these things known. Isn’t it good to know that the Father is generous with wisdom? Don’t you want to welcome whatever the Father would like to teach you about his good and beautiful kingdom? Wouldn’t it be good to enjoy these rich resources and share them with others?

God’s purposes really are good, and they will prevail in the end. When God does whatever he pleases, that is only good news. God is at work to fulfill his good intentions for our world, regardless of what we see in the moment.

This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you what is best for you,

who directs you in the way you should go.

¹⁸If only you had paid attention to my commands,

your peace would have been like a river,

your well-being like the waves of the sea.

Isaiah 48:17-18

Lord, thank you for being my redeemer. I need redeeming. I need rescuing. More than forty years after I began following you, I still need restoring and renewing. And I can’t renew myself, but you can do it because of your love for me. You are my God. Thank you for all the ways you teach me what is best and guide me in good, fruitful, joyful paths.

When I pay attention and follow, I experience rivers of peace and waves of well-being. Open my eyes, my ears, my heart and my mind to discern your teaching and your guidance today. Enable me to walk on the path that is so rich and full of peace and goodness. May Gem and I both find our way to carrying with us the goodness that you are continually granting. May this day of work be enriched in it. Amen.

Reflect 

• What might help you enjoy even more a meeting with God in the morning? What might make it even more special—a favorite morning beverage, a special location, a beautiful view out one of your windows?
• How might you take your time with such a meeting? How might an unhurried approach make it even richer?

Photo by Sydney Angove on Unsplash