Psalm 143:8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for you I lift up my soul.
I love a quiet morning, just me, my dog, my Bible, a cup of coffee and the birds singing to me. My coffee dates with God are where I write. I spend time conversing with Him. Much like I do when I have coffee with a friend or my husband. Think about when you meet someone for coffee. You meet up to catch up. Each morning I catch up with God. He has not gone anywhere, but I have. I shift my attention to my problems as soon as I close my Bible.
Starting your day in God’s presence is essential to conquer anxiety and stress. Does it mean you will not experience either of those throughout the day? No, but it does mean that your focus to start the day is on Him. He gives us hope, strength and the desire to carry on. I hare scriptures that mean something to me, most of the time I have already shared them. “My hope is in the Lord.” (Psalm 39:7) Or “Be Still and KNOW I am God” both come to mind. Why do I repeat scripture? For me, it is a reminder of those scriptures as I write. But also, it is a way to write them in my heart.
I write from the heart. If I do not have scriptures written in my heart, then I am constantly searching for hope. I went for years without spending time with God. I would say a quick prayer for whatever I needed, but that was it. Then God hit me with a 2x4. It was during a sermon (Thanks Adam). If you are not spending time in scripture daily, you are not growing in your faith. You see, I thought I had enough faith, why would I need more? I felt God carrying me through my parents’ deaths, so I had faith. But what I did not have was scriptures. I did not have maturity in my walk to understand what I was lacking.
I knew scriptures from what I was taught early in life. But to find them, where they were written, I struggled (still struggle, but thankfully I have Google). I am learning to read again. No, I have not forgotten how to read, but I have never learned how to read scripture with my heart. Storing God’s Word in my heart, taking a passage and finding the meaning of it, affects my identity and my attitude. I love it when God shows me an old verse but brings to light a new meaning. One of my favorite experiences with a verse is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” I had heard this verse and understood it, as it was taught to me, as a prosperity verse. Meaning the welfare was more than health, more along the lines of financial security. Then one day as I was writing something, this verse was brought back up to my attention. I wanted to ignore it, but God keep nudging me to read it. When I did and read the commentary, I found a whole new meaning. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. “OH, you mean you desire us to be good not evil (bad) and you want us to have a future and a hope!” If we are evil, we will have no hope, nor will we have a future. It all made sense.
My other verse is Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Plaques are painted with the first part of this verse. I would read them and think, “well, that’s stupid. I know He is God.” But this verse became a cornerstone for me during an anxiety ridden time. I had experienced a time of trouble with people I thought were my friends. I had handled the situation by fleeing. Then God prompted me to find my answers in the Bible. This verse when I read it, calmed me. Because it showed me God. Be still, means to stop everything. Just stop, stop thinking, stop moving, completely stop. Then there’s the opportunity to “Know I am God”. What I found with this verse was peace. I know God and He knows me by name. He knows what I am dealing with at all times and He has all the answers. Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that man people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Satan wants to use our bad experiences to keep us from God, to keep us for sharing our God with others.
My coffee with God, restores my hope, my future and my soul. Wanna meet for coffee? My mornings coffee dates with God have enriched my mornings and my relationship with Him.
