The warm smell of multiple brews of coffee enticed me to wait for my companion in the bistro area of the grocery store. I approached the multiple 3-person tables and sat down at the only unoccupied set of chairs. An unexpected sense of ease and peace rushed over me.
I mused that maybe it was simply the act of sitting and doing nothing that brought on that unanticipated calm, as the week just ended had been intensely focused on tasks and chores, long hours and short nights.
Yet what I experienced felt intensely social. It was as if I were actually part of the small-table community and had stepped in to visit a familiar group of friends. The sensation was both pleasant and curious, as I knew no one there and was sitting alone. But that friendly hum of background voices was ministering to me like an uplifting song.
Then came an ah-ha moment…maybe it “felt” like a song because the Lord was actually singing over me right there, in the midst of the commonest of situations.
Zephaniah 3:17 states, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will
exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of Joy.” (NASB) The Living Bible translation phrases the end of that scripture with, “It is the Lord Himself exulting over you with happy song.”
I have been touched before by His representatives in nature — through a prolonged bird’s reverie or the ear-catching sound of water navigating its particular path. The Psalms frequently refer to Nature singing praise to its Maker, the Lord: “All the trees in the forest will sing for joy” (Psa. 96:12); “Let the mountains sing together for joy” (Psa. 98:8). In Psalm 96, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psa. 96:1)
But this song shared an undeniably Personal touch, weaving His Presence of fellowship and camaraderie into a moment of intimacy just for me, just for that moment. It brought refreshment, energy, a deep sense of thankfulness and reset strength for the day ahead.
Mark 6:8 states, “For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
I definitely needed His song on that day. Each and every one of us have moments, hours, days, when the uplifting of His song in our lives brings much-needed renewal.
And I say, Thank you. “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.” (Psa. 139:2)
Thank you, indeed — my Friend, my Guide, “my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust”! (Psa. 91:2)
The apostle Paul pointed out to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win…therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air…” (I Cor. 9:24, 26)
Prayer. Worship. Reflection on His thinking, His priorities, His lifestyle. Aligning choices with His wisdom. Discovering our part in His plans and consciously choosing to focus and move forward in that direction with deliberation, acknowledging that we are His hands, feet, and voice on the road we travel.
Yet, was Jesus’ command to His disciples, “Permit the children to come to Me” (Mark 10:14) any less holy, God-breathed, or manifesting-the-Father’s-love than His command to Lazarus, “Come forth!”? (John 11:43)
And there we are. Some of us shaped as coffee cups that are truly breathtaking in their intricately shaped handle and elaborate gold-leafed, colorful adornment….and some who are one-shaded, simply designed, functional without any specific distinction.
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