A Spiritual Lesson from a Cold Cup of Coffee

My daughter Brienne is at the age where she likes to hang out with her friends more than she likes to hang out with our family. She is always either at a friend’s house or a friend is at our house.

She has one particularly sweet and sassy friend that spends the night a lot. Last week, this friend walked into my kitchen and said this to me: Wow. Mrs. Adrienne. You look tired. 

Gee. Thanks.

This seems to be a running theme lately. Because yes, yes, I am tired, thank you very much.

As Brienne’s sweet and sassy friend was providing this wonderful commentary on my life and appearance, I glanced at my cup of coffee on the counter. I had been carrying it around with me for the past 45 minutes as I rushed around the house in the busyness of the morning, but I had yet to take a sip (thanks to the little people who live in my house).

Mom, I’m hungry.

Mom, I need some juice.

Mom, I want to get dressed.

Mom.

Mom.

Mom.

I love coffee, but carrying around a full cup without ever drinking from it doesn’t do me a whole lot of good. I mean, I don’t think the caffeine is going to enter my body through osmosis. Plus, the longer my coffee just sits there in my cup, the colder it becomes.

I have recently been studying the armor of God from Ephesians chapter 6. Paul instructs us to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

If we aren’t careful, the Word of God can be much like my cold cup of coffee. If we just carry it around without actually ingesting it, it doesn’t do any good. We can carry our Bible everywhere, we can even know what it says, but if we don’t apply it to our lives, there are no benefits. And when we don’t live by His Word, we can’t live in victory.

Just as caffeine may give us energy and help awaken us, living according to the Word of God also keeps us active and on guard. And when we are vigilant and alert, we can be more aware of the enemy’s schemes to bring us down.

The question is – how do we use God’s Word in an active way each day in order to prevent our lives from becoming cold and monotonous? How can we make His Word come alive in our lives?

Look. I’m right here with you on this. One day I am filled with the Holy Spirit, quoting scripture when I feel tempted, praying constantly. And then the next day, satan wins all the battles.

But it is possible to live victoriously by praying that God would make His Word come alive to us as we read it. We need to make time each day to read scripture. To meditate on it in order to see how it applies to our lives. To memorize it so it is on the tip of our tongues when we feel tempted.

We also need to be part of a body of believers where the truth is being preached each week. Being involved in a small group is important as well. Join a bible study at your church or find a LifeGroup or Sunday School class where you can have accountability with other believers.

This week, I am praying that we will be victorious by living according to the Word of God. And maybe next time I find myself drinking a cup of cold coffee, I will be reminded to apply the truths of God’s Word to my life.