Oh How He Loves Us!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7, 8 ESV)

It is now two and half weeks without coffee and I don’t even miss it! God is so amazing and willing to help us whenever we ask. You have to understand, I had a love affair with coffee and when I tell people who know me, that I am not drinking it anymore, they are amazed! Our daughter works at Starbucks and a good friend of mine works at another store so I could get coffee whenever I wanted. I am in awe at how I feel so much better and guess what? The aches and pains are almost gone! I certainly do not have any in my fingers anymore which I am very excited about.
However, I knew this was going to be a struggle with me and my flesh as I so enjoyed my coffee first thing in the morning. I did what I heard a great preacher tell he did when he decided he was going to stop drinking coffee. I prayed and asked God for His help as I certainly could not do this on my own. I also asked for no withdrawal from caffeine such as headaches. Well, He did exactly as I asked and I have never had a headache – not one! There was something that I did not know and did not pray for, was muscle cramps. For the first week and a half, around my knees would get so sore by evening, that I would be limping around the house. I could not figure out what was happening until one day I was reading on a website that muscle cramps can be a withdrawal symptom from caffeine! Those symptoms have disappeared which I am most grateful for.
I used to drink coffee to help me get through the day which I believe most of the population of North America does. The more I am learning, the more I believe that my adrenal glands have not been functioning properly as I would just drag through most of the day and need the pick up from the coffee to help me get by. One of the things I was dreading the most about giving up coffee was the afternoon slump. Well, I have been speaking to my adrenal glands and commanding them to function properly so I don’t have that slump in the afternoon. Guess what, I don’t have that anymore either! God is so good to us when we trust Him and do what He is nudging us to do. He created us, so He knows what our bodies need and each one of us is different. Mine happened to be no coffee.

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.” (Psalms 37:5 NLT)

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Trust and Obey

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8 NLT)

I was listening to a well known Bible teacher and she was saying how we need to get the message out that God loves us. This is what I am trying to do as I have experienced so much of what He has done for me and He will do it for anyone. All we need to do is ask, trust and obey. The asking is easy. The trusting, well we kinda do. The obeying….that is the hard part. We are such a rebellious people determined to do things our way that obeying what God wants is difficult for us.
Sometimes it comes out of having bad role models for parents so we have a job trusting and definitely in obeying.
I always struggled with obedience growing up as I had so many rules and regulations and wasn’t allowed to do much of anything. In a small community where you are the only Christian, that is
very difficult. Looking back now, I am thankful my mother was so determined to keep me from as much wrong as she could while she could. However, there is a saying, “Rules without relationship brings rebellion.” Oh how I believe that as of course when I got old enough to be on my own, I rebelled! I did things my parents would not have wanted me to do, but I truly believe their prayers kept me out of alot more trouble that I could have gotten into! It seems like God has you on this long leash letting you run to and fro and then all of a sudden the leash gets really short and He gets your attention one way or another! He is so amazing as He knows exactly what and when will get our attention. Sometimes it is something simple, sometimes it is something very difficult. He does not bring evil as there is no evil in Him, but He certainly can turn evil into good!
For two years maybe longer, God has been nudging me to stop drinking coffee. How do I know this? I keep thinking that I should, so I know that is His Spirit gently trying to get me on the right path to healing and wholeness. Last year when my husband and I toured San Francisco, I saw a sign while in Starbucks that they use a chemical in their coffee that California believes causes cancer so they have a sign in every Starbucks in California as they are trying to get the law passed to rule out this chemical. Now, wouldn’t you think that would make one think a little? It did for about five minutes but off I went on to the next thing. I did have the thought, maybe I should stop drinking this stuff. A year has passed, and I have been having these thoughts all along that I need to quit drinking coffee but I enjoy my cup of coffee first thing in the morning. This has been my argument with God and myself for a year now. Well, I have been getting pain in my fingers, wrists, knotting of muscles and it is never the same place twice! I hate pain and do not do well with it at all! Let me think, what is going on? You would think when I heard a friend of ours one morning in church tell me that his muscles were all stiff from drinking too much coffee that I would clue in. I did, but I kept on drinking coffee as I like my coffee very much. This was the rationale! Oh how we can rationalize anything we want to!
My husband and I decided in April to change our eating habits so we bought some supplements, got a health diet and one of the things was to stop drinking coffee. Guess what I have been doing?
Still drinking coffee. He quit as he said it gave him jitters anyway but I kept on drinking. How stupid and stubborn can we be? I have read what coffee does to us when we drink it and still didn’t clue in. Wether I realize it or not, I have been disobedient to God by doing all this as I know He wants me to stop and I have heard, but I have not acted on it! I am not saying that everyone has to stop drinking coffee as that is your choice. I totally understand anyone that enjoys their cup of java. It is that God has been nudging me to quit so obviously He has something good in store for me. We can pray and ask God for healing which in His mercy He does, but sometimes our healing is right under our nose. It could be something we are eating, doing or drinking that needs to be dealt with. It sure is in my case. I have been asking God to heal my aches and pains and it goes for awhile, but in a couple of days, back it comes! I know that I know it is not arthritis so this is the reason I have finally decided to quit drinking coffee. Like our adult children say, “Oh you are a quick one!”
Next is my journey of no coffee!

“Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” (Isaiah 50:10 NLT)