Anyone who knows me knows that I love everything about coffee, from roasting to drinking. I have roasted my own coffee beans for about 20 years. Even so, a very simple but profound truth came to mind while roasting this past Saturday.
When I finish roasting, I take the round cage full of beans and shake them vigorously, giving them a terrible beating, yet not so hard that the beans are permanently damaged. I don’t want to break the beans – I want to purify them. I want to make them better. I want to shake the old chaff off so that when I pour them out on a pan, they are beautiful and pure, ready to be used (2 Timothy 2:20-21).
Besides the resulting aesthetic of separation, it also protects the flavor of the coffee. Can you imagine if the chaff were ground together with the bean? If you like coffee, you wouldn’t like this. You’d spit it out of your mouth!
I suppose my mind was on people I know who are being “sifted,” so to speak–people I care about going through extremely difficult circumstances. I’ve been praying it will serve to rid them of anything that might divert them from Jesus and lead to strong, mature discipleship.
For me, I want to be a pleasing aroma to my Father (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 2:15). I don’t want anything in my life that would make Him want to spit me out of His mouth (Revelation 3:14-22). If that’s true, then I need to welcome the trials that come my way, embracing the process of purification (James 1:2-4). No, I don’t have to enjoy the process, but knowing that I’m held firmly by His grace (John 6:37-40), I can experience joy through it, knowing that what is coming is worth every challenge I have to face.
“You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:5-7
How do you handle trials and circumstances? What are some things you find helpful in keeping the right perspective? Do you ever wonder if God really loves you because of tough times?
