Are You Cracked?
Over the holidays I received a coffee-bean roaster. I have been having a good time learning how to roast them. The heat from the roaster not only changes the color from green to dark brown, it also causes them to expand and crack. To get a good roasted bean, it must crack two times before it is ready for brewing. It must then pass through boiling water before it is ready to serve. A good cup of coffee is made from something that is cracked twice and boiled. This reminded me of Psalm 57:17 which says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.”
Like the coffee bean, we may need to crack and be boiled a few times before we are ready to serve. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David all cracked, but God used their cracks to brew up some amazing service. For the Christian, God will send trials his way too. When we undergo these tests, our hard heartedness is cracked and broken so that God may live deeper in our lives. Christians are boiled through fiery trials that test our faith (1 Peter 4:12). These trials are not designed to destroy us, but to purify us so that we can be closer to God. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
Paul told the disciples, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The life of the Christian is great not because he has everything easy, but because he trusts God to bring him through all of the trials of life, make him a servant, and save him in the end.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley