I still remember the first time I ever tasted coffee. It was a freezing cold night at a Central home football game and I was a scrawny elementary kid. I was desperate for some warmth and my sister, Judy, compassionately and willingly shared her java with me. That sip, however, was undoubtedly some of the bitterest stuff I’d ever tasted in my life and it was many years before I ever tried it again. I even survived college and my first year of teaching without the caffeine boost it offered.
It wasn’t until my mid-thirties that I tried coffee again. When I did, I got hooked and since then I have made up for lost time. I look forward to this blessed liquid every morning before I ever crawl out of bed and I am thankful for the timed coffee pot that has it all ready for Nancy and me when we awake, provided I remember to set it. Mocha, Chocolate Macadamia, Hazelnut, Pumpkin Spice, or Jamaican Blue Mountain, it’s all good! 
As I enjoy my starter fluid each morning in a carefully selected mug from our eclectic collection, I’ve often thought about how very simple and basic coffee is. Regular plain clear water is completely transformed as it percolates through the grounds and comes out rich, dark, and fully flavored. Although it’s still the same water that went in, it has been significantly altered by the experience. Not only does it look differently, but its brief time in the filter has changed the way it smells and tastes and it will now affect our bodies in various ways that it could not before.
The simple process of percolation changes a virtually free cup of tap water into a $3.00 morning delight. It’s still the same water, yet very, very different because of its exposure to the fragments of brown beans grown on some faraway hillside.
This process of percolation and change is very much like our thoughts and ideas when we pass them through God’s Word. Our minds generate a steady stream of notions each day that can be acted on or ignored. Most are average run-of-the-mill ideas that aren’t worth much by themselves and many will cause negative results if we carry them out immediately.
When we pass them through the Word of God, however, and they come in contact with His powerful truth, they become much richer and fuller and can change the world around us in many positive ways. Sometimes the initial experience is difficult as we resist the modification God wants to make, but eventually we grow to cherish the acquired taste of His blessed presence and learn to crave Him.
Like coffee, the more time we spend in God’s Word, the greater the impact it will have on us and our ability to impact the world around us. Daily devotions give us that opportunity to sit and let our thoughts, emotions, dreams, ambitions, hurts, and desires all percolate through the eternal truth of Scripture. As they do so, they are radically transformed to something that looks, smells, and tastes much better than before and they then, like coffee, effect change in those with whom we interact!
Additionally, through prayer, we submit our minds to God’s transforming process and, combined with Bible Study and the Holy Spirit’s influence, He is able to brew a cup of delightful results that puts a smile on His face.
In Psalm 34:8, David invites us to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Submit your dreams, desires, and ambitions to the transformative power of God’s presence and Word and allow Him to produce what He desires in you today.
Enjoying my coffee, George