There’s that One Thing that Makes it All Worth It…

I really super enjoy coffee. I know, very cliche and very hipster of me haha. But really, coffee is one of those things for me that can make anything better. If I have to do a task that I don’t want to do, if I have coffee, somehow it feels easier to buckle down and do it. When I have to get up early, the thought of coffee helps motivate me. When I’m alone and don’t really want to be, coffee offers a coziness that seems to soften the blow. I know this probably sounds ridiculous. The thought that coffee can help me get through unpleasant moments probably makes no sense. But do you have something like that? Do you have anything in your life that seems to make otherwise no-fun things a little more bearable?

I haven’t been drinking coffee for a while. For a set number of days, I did not drink coffee. I had tea, learned to like it a bit, and water, which I actually really like (:nerd_face:), but no coffee. Today, that set number of days was up and I woke up thinking, “there’s nothing like it.” There is nothing like a black cup of coffee on an autumn morning. And then I thought, “isn’t that true also of our relationship with God?” There is nothing like it. There is no one like Jesus. The Bible literally says, “The Lord has no equal” in Isaiah chapter 40.

As I thought more about this, what coffee means to me, and my relationship with Jesus- sidetone: I say “relationship with Jesus” because it is a relationship. Just like with a friend or a mom or a dad, I get to know Him and He knows me. I get to talk to Him and He talks to me. He is not far away, He is close. I said earlier that coffee is one of those things for me that I count on- whether I’m doing something I don’t like (coffee makes it worth it), or something I really enjoy (coffee makes it worth it). So does Jesus. He makes everything worth it.

Feeling tired of not fitting in because you’re a Christian? Jesus makes it worth it. Feeling limited in the things you can and can’t do because of your Christian values? Jesus makes it worth it. Feeling excited to be a part of connecting people to Jesus? That’s because Jesus makes it worth it. He makes everything worth it. I’m not saying there won’t be unpleasant moments in this life. But what I am saying is that through it all, the cause of Christ makes it meaningful. There is nothing like it. There is no one like Jesus. I want you to read this passage from Isaiah chapter 40, NLT version, and notice those last verses: “Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

The Lord Has No Equal (Isaiah 40:12-31 NLT)

12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?

Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?

Who else knows the weight of the earth

or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[a]

Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?

Does he need instruction about what is good?

Did someone teach him what is right

or show him the path of justice?

15 No, for all the nations of the world

are but a drop in the bucket.

They are nothing more

than dust on the scales.

He picks up the whole earth

as though it were a grain of sand.

16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests

and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough

to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.

17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.

In his eyes they count for less than nothing—

mere emptiness and froth.

18 To whom can you compare God?

What image can you find to resemble him?

19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,

overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?

20 Or if people are too poor for that,

they might at least choose wood that won’t decay

and a skilled craftsman

to carve an image that won’t fall down!

21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?

Are you deaf to the words of God—

the words he gave before the world began?

Are you so ignorant?

22 God sits above the circle of the earth.

The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!

He spreads out the heavens like a curtain

and makes his tent from them.

23 He judges the great people of the world

and brings them all to nothing.

24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,

when he blows on them and they wither.

The wind carries them off like chaff.

25 “To whom will you compare me?

Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Look up into the heavens.

Who created all the stars?

He brings them out like an army, one after another,

calling each by its name.

Because of his great power and incomparable strength,

not a single one is missing.

27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?

O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

28 Have you never heard?

Have you never understood?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of all the earth.

He never grows weak or weary.

No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

29 He gives power to the weak

and strength to the powerless.

30 Even youths will become weak and tired,

and young men will fall in exhaustion.

31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.