"His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21–23 ESV
I'm a coffee drinker. Ever since I was 14 years old, I've revelled in the liquid satisfaction of the life-enhancing elixir that Heaven blessed this Earth with! From my truck-driving days of guzzling 16 cups a day to the much more balanced intake of only 4 to 5 daily indulgences now, I continue to relish that delicious cupful!
BUT . . . if java isn't fresh, java isn't good!
I remember that time when I was low on coffee and decided to try reusing the previous day's grounds for a recycled drink the next day. It tasted horrendous-like rope! It was the last time I tried that!
Then there was that time at an isolated BC gas station where our band stopped for gas and coffee. The coffee was terrible and I ungraciously grumbled to one of our guitar players in Cree, "Maaskoch kichii awuss otaakosi kii osiihtaawak oma!" Translation: "They probably made this the day before the day before yesterday!" Pretty embarrassing to discover the attendant spoke Cree too!
I clearly remember the worst coffee I ever drank. It was 10:59 pm (closing time) at the old Edmonton Greyhound depot. I think they started brewing that 200 cup urn about 6:00 am that morning and this was the last dregs that they were planning on dumping if the last customer of the day (me) hadn't come in to buy some! Awful stuff-cold and old!!
Our walk with Jesus contains similar dynamics to those scenarios. If we rely on recalling yesteryear's victories to energize our spiritual life today, we'll find a staleness setting into our soul. The time-worn memories of past blessings need updating to maintain the intimacy of a personal relationship with our Savior. We need to talk with God and hear from His Word "new each day."
Coffee's only good if it's fresh! In the same way, how connected, vibrant and invigorated our spiritual journey will be is determined by the time we spend with God today!
