Give credit where credit is due.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

My usual morning routine is to come down the stairs and get a pot of nice, dark coffee brewing before I go outside to let the chickens out of their coop. Now that the temperature is dropping a bit, the brisk morning air starts to shake my weariness and blurry eyes away. But it’s coming back in to a fresh cup of coffee that I look forward to the most. That warm aroma, the hot cup in my hands, the first sip of glorious bold flavor! Ahhh, so good!

It’s often easier for me to praise coffee than it is to remember to praise the One who made coffee possible. Certainly most days we wake up in fellowship with Him at the front of our minds and we would never substitute a caffeine jolt for that. But in all honesty there are many days where I think I am alone in my morning routine. My kids and wife are not awake yet. The house is silent (amazing and lovely). Even the dog stays snuggled in, waiting for her favorite person to get up.

O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;
    save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
    rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
    and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Psalm 7:1-2,17 English Standard Version

This may sound stupid, even more stupid if you say it out loud: coffee doesn’t save me. If I don’t have it in the morning my day is not spoiled. But my salvation comes from the Lord. If I don’t have fellowship with Him, I am ruined.

Lord help us to remember Your faithfulness to us today. Help us to see Your hand in the people and events around us today. Mostly, help us to remember to give You the thanks You deserve and to sing praise to Your name.

Copyright photo and text David Brukiewa