I had a lunch appointment earlier this week with another Pastor from across town. We meet every so often to just connect and build a relationship. Mostly we spur each other on in the calling of pastoring and leading. We run things by each other and often critique the plans of the other because there is safety and understanding between each of us.
Our conversation was pretty much dominated by the need to build momentum and clarify wins for the ministry. We talked about how things look on the outside are not always what they are like on the inside. Finally, we ended on the note of looking into our lives and ministry and called some victories out. It was great conversation, encouragement, and building up of each other.
After our meal, my friend order a cup of coffee. After the waitress brought his cup of freshly brewed Joe, the smell overcame me. I too ordered a cup of Joe. She brought my coffee and I proceeded to put sweetener in the coffee and then picked up the creamer. SPLASH! I dropped the unopened little cup of creamer right into the fresh and HOT coffee. Coffee landed all over my side of the table. The creamer didn’t infuse the coffee, and it caused the first sip of coffee to be enjoyed by a napkin instead of my chilled insides. We laughed, I cleaned it up, got more coffee and creamer, and then my friend said this…
“Well, you at least got the creamer on the inside of the cup. Not exactly the way it is supposed to be, but nevertheless inside the cup. See that’s a win!”
That got me to thinking about how we judge things in our life. There are way more things in our world that don’t end up the way we think they should. But when you look at them, the goal was accomplished and you and I made a pretty great cup of coffee out of the scenario!
Those scenarios play out all over scripture from Genesis to Revelation. In fact, Jesus even prayed in the garden moments before He was arrested, “Father take this cup from me, but not my will, but Yours be done!”
The issue in life shouldn’t be that it is not always going to turn out the way we think it should. The issue should be, did it accomplish the will of our heavenly Father!
So when you drop the creamer in your coffee, when things don’t happen the way you think they should, remember the prayer of Jesus, “Father…not my will, but yours be done!”