I really enjoy a good cup of hot coffee in the morning. Usually, a splash of cream deepens the smoky flavor so that it presents a more robust taste, and that’s just the way I like it. Cups aren’t all the same either. There are some cups that you’ll never see me drinking my coffee out of in the morning. I have my reasons, but suffice it to say that the experience those cups offer aren’t quite the same as my cups of choice. The cup has to have sip-ability. It also has to keep the coffee at a certain temp. And, it should take me back to a time and place. This is part of my morning routine…virtually every morning.
However, something changed this Thursday, October 21. It was a day that will sit in my memory for a long time, and even as I write this post it continues to sit with me. I went to bed the preceding night feeling a little under the weather. Previously that week, I had tested negative for COVID, which is important for me as I’m around quite a few people in ministry. Also, my family was on the tail-end of their COVID quarantine, and we thought we had made it through without us all contracting the disease. Not so.
When I poured and carefully prepared my cup of coffee in one of my favorite mugs I was looking forward to the first sip. Nothing. No taste. Surprised, I reached over and grabbed a little morning snack, took one bite, and again…nothing. Of course, with a stopped up nose I thought blowing might help. It didn’t (later it did a little, but it was short-lived). My taste and smell were gone, and even while writing this post on Saturday, October 23, those two senses remain gone.
Perhaps you’ve been through this already with COVID or some other sinus-related issue. I’ve heard it can happen, and even had a grandmother who–after a vehicle accident–lived her entire adult life without her smell and taste. Now, I feel it. I feel y’all’s annoyance, y’all’s frustrations, and even discouragement. The world went from color to black and white in an instant. What was once a life of experiencing the vast arrays of smells and wonderful depths of tastes is now a bland lifeless experience of chewing and swallowing what seems to be nothing different than water-logged cardboard.
In all this, however, there remains a bright side. There’s always a bright side. Certain textures are more preferred than others. For instance, the thought of having a sandwich with hard crusty bread is much less appealing than eating one with soft bread that forms around a layer of other food within. I’ve never appreciated texture of food as much as I do now.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
Life is broken…
When sin entered the world in Genesis 3 everything changed. The world and life became dangerous, wild, and unpredictable. Nevertheless, the goodness of God remained. It always remains. Even when sin marred God’s perfect world it didn’t have the final answer. The creation does not have the final say over its Creator. Thus, we can say with the 19th Century preacher, Charles Spurgeon,
“If you drink of the river of affliction near its outfall,” he preached in 1858, “it is brackish and offensive to the taste, but if you will trace it to its source, where it rises at the foot of the throne of God, you will find its waters to be sweet and health-giving.” He explained in 1873: “As long as I trace my pain to accident, my bereavement to mistake, my loss to another’s wrong, my discomfort to an enemy, and so on, I am of the earth, earthy, and shall break my teeth with gravel stones; but when I rise to my God and see His hand at work, I grow calm, I have not a word of repining (Anguish and Agonies of Spurgeon, Darrel W. Amundsen, p. 8).”
We control a lot less than we think…
While I might live under the notion that I have control over certain things, the reality is I have very little control. Losing my taste and smell as a result of a microscopic disease proves my point. The fact that something so small can impact 40% of my 5 senses is staggering. This is much of life. We can plan (and should), but it’s the Lord who directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9). Thus, I am free to say with the apostle Paul, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” – Philippians 4:11b-12
God is good…and uses all things for good…
The Source and Creator of life is God. God also is the sustainer of life. He holds all things together. All the days of our lives were written in His book before one of them came to be…His thoughts for us are without number…and He knew us before we were ever formed (Psalm 139). Thus, we can follow Job’s example when he,
“…arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:20-21
So I can rest…
To rest means to trust. God’s blessing of Sabbath was not intrinsic. In other words, Sabbath itself isn’t sacred, but what it represents is to be observed. That’s why Jesus would say in Mark 2:27-28, “Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Jesus became our Sabbath. He fulfilled what the Sabbath represents, which is rest. The people of God have found their rest in Christ. And so, Jesus would say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
I’m continuing to write my first draft of the GAP Book…to read, CLICK HERE for the next chapter of The GAP Book.