Morning Coffee ... by Michael E. Wells

One plants, another waters, but it is God who gives the increase. We provide seeds, many of us water along the way, but God births it in the spirit of those who receive. -Michael

Dust In The Wind

A popular song in the 70’s about the futility and temporary nature of our being. It is a worldview of our earthly life. Just a brief, meaningless existence followed by oblivion. Dust in the wind is a twisted reversal of the truth. The reality is we are made up of wind in the dust. God formed us out of the dust of the ground and blew the breath of life into us, His Spirit into our bodies. And so true life began.

We are not temporary but eternal, destined to be somewhere forever. This life gives us choices. Choose wisely. The Bible reminds us the body will return to dust but the spirit back to God, who gave it. It is essential to know Him here to find favor with Him there. So truth be told, though we all grow old and eventually surrender this life to its frailty, we were never just simply... dust in the wind.

All By Myself

It was a song written by Eric Carmen in 1975. It tells the story of a man who realizes he is no longer young and life has taken on a serious reality. The many years he had lived for himself and never gave his heart to love someone has brought him to a place where he is all alone and without anyone. He writes, “When I was young, never needed anyone, and making love was just for fun. Those days are gone. Livin’ alone, I think of all the friends I’ve known. When I dial the telephone, nobody’s home. All by myself, don’t want to be all by myself anymore.” Truth is, when we are born, we are all by ourselves.

We are spiritually separated from God and physically separated from each other by the bodies we live in. The heart is a lonely place until it is given away. In his last statement, he writes, “Hard to be sure sometimes I feel so insecure and love so distant and obscure remains the cure.” He has never found a meaningful relationship and yet he is still reluctant to love with a whole heart that he might be loved back. He ends by stating, “All by myself, don’t want to live. I never, never, never needed anyone.” It is the epitaph of a lonely life, one lived without God and without companionship, to only end as it had begun. Jesus said that He came so we could have an abundant life, one in which His Presence would actually live within us.

That life begins when we give something that is uniquely ours to give—our heart. It is not one to give for selfish pursuits but to be freely spent on the object of our affection. When that happens, the dynamic of our life changes. Where once was loneliness is now fulfillment, where fear resided, there is now security, and where there was loss, we now live in hope. Although through the loss of friends and loved ones, our mind may taunt our aloneness, we know better. We can tell our hearts with confidence and tangible reality that, “Even though I may be alone, I am never all by myself.”

Editor Note: The above article, All By Myself, was previously published in Morning Coffee, Full Circle Publishing, © 2018 Michael E. Wells. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

D-Stress

Information overload is a great cause of anxiety and restlessness. But as a culture, we crave to be stimulated audibly and visually. They have the ability to release endorphins in the body that too much for too long can keep us on edge and irritable. The fact is, the more you know, the more you can become stressed out. Solomon, the wisest man in Scripture, gives us this observation, “Of making many books there is no end and much study is wearisome to the flesh.”

Isaiah writes, God will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. This is not to be pollyannic of world view or family strife but to be at peace with life around you. Some issues are real and need our attention, but we allow much too much tragedy and sorrow into our lives from unrelated sources way beyond our reach and control. As Jesus said, let tomorrow worry about itself, sufficient are the troubles of today.

In our world of instant global information, we are deluged with stories that evoke emotions we have become accustomed to. The endorphins that are released in our brains upon seeing tragedy and struggle have become addictive. We can’t look away from our devices. It is like a drug that can kill your body. The apostle Paul tells us to think upon a list of things to be at peace. I encourage you to read them today in various translations.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8,9 NKJV)

Michael

Michael Wells

Michael E. Wells has a passion for writing letters of Christian encouragement. With poetic style and moving messages, the reader is often comforted and consoled, inspired, and refreshed. Since his retirement from Federal Service in 2006, most mornings are spent penning letters of the heart. Tucked away in the foothills of Pennsylvania, he leads an idyllic lifestyle in a pastoral setting. This backdrop helps to set both mood and message for his many writings. You can find his book, “Morning Coffee with Words For The Day” at Amazon.com.