1. Immersion– Rather than have water spray over the surface of the grounds and drip down into a pitcher, water and coffee grounds are both added to the pitcher for an extended period of time. It is essential that the grounds be completely saturated. You know, water is a common metaphor for the Holy Spirit. I think this is just what Paul had in mind when he writes that we should be “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” A spray here and there isn’t enough. A drip every now and then isn’t what we’re looking for. We want to be baptized in the Spirit of God. Immersed completely. We want our lives to be absolutely saturated by Him.
2. Filterlessness– When a filter is used, it traps many of the oils which would otherwise add flavor and texture to the coffee. Because the french press uses no filter, the oils from the grounds remain once the grounds have been removed. Remember that oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and His anointing. What are the filters that we allow to trap or inhibit the Spirit in our lives? What are the barriers that keep His anointing from being enjoyed by us and others? Spiritual filters could be fear of what people think of us, toxic relationships, bitterness, unforgiveness, inauthenticity, etc. When we remove those spiritual filters, we allow the oil of the Holy Spirit to flow freely in our lives, adding flavor and adventure to every day!
3. Pressure– This is the tough one. In order to separate the grounds from the water (which has now been brewed into coffee), a plunger is inserted into the pitcher and presses the grounds all the way to the bottom, leaving the rich, delicious coffee on top to be poured into your favorite mug. If coffee grounds could talk, I’m sure they’d agree that this is not a fun process. Pressure is not fun. But it’s necessary for french press coffee and it’s necessary in our spiritual lives. I think most of us would agree that it’s been in the pressing times- the trials, the uncertainty, the loss- that God has been most able to work in our lives. And it’s lessons learned under pressure that continue to shape our lives and experience. Under pressure, God grows in us patience, peace, grace, compassion, and a cornucopia of other fruits.

Before you read this devotional, I encourage you to open your Bible and read 1 Samuel Chapter 17.         I hope you read this chapter so you can get the fullness of what I am about to share with you; trust me it is worth it! The Word of God can do more in a moment than any devotional I could write for you.

So, the Israelites were at war with the Philistines who were a strong army. These people were big and intimidating, they were called giants they were so big!  David was a shepherd and his brothers were at the camp ground as part of the Israelite army. David’s father asked him to take some food and provisions to the camp and then return and update him on how his brothers were doing. When David arrived to the camp he found them at a standstill as there was a Philistine giant named Goliath who had been taunting them for forty days begging them to send someone to fight him.  If you read the description in the word about Goliath you can see this was no small man with small armor, he was a giant in every sense of the word. David, an adolescent, arrives on the scene and says: “who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” This made his brothers very angry and they told him to go back to the “few sheep” he was to attend to. Basically they felt like who was this child to tell them anything about fighting this giant! How dare he come up like anything could be done about this situation! Who did he think he was!

Well you see, that’s just it! The Israelite army had lost sight of who they were. They were God’s chosen people. They belonged to the God who conquered the Egyptian army and others before.  Perspective is a very powerful thing! If you look at yourself and you see that you are not bigger or more powerful than your giant, then you have already taken your spot as the loser in the battle. That’s just not the case! Let’s see what David did that the others didn’t.

Verse 26: “The army of the living God” – David recognized to whom he belonged. It wasn’t just the Israelite army, it was Gods army!

Verse 34-37 – David remembered his testimony, how the Lord had helped him before. He knew that God was faithful then, and would be faithful now.

Verse 38-39- David knew he had to be himself, just as God created him. By trying to dress and be like Saul, he would not have victory or be able to fight like he knew. He didn’t have to become or dress like all the rest of the Israelite army… after all, they had that gear the whole time and none of them believed it would save them.

Verse 47- He recognized that the battle was not His but the Lords! It was never David that would defeat the giant; he knew it would be the Lord. His confidence was not in himself, but God.

Verse 48 “David ran quickly” – I think there is a lot being said in these three small words. We see in the previous verses the Israelites had been taunted by this Philistine for forty days! David ran quickly! Sometimes we spend far too much time staring at our giants and we let fear and intimidation get the best of us. Just like the Israelites did. They spent forty days wallowing in their emanate defeat, when all David did was recognize that he belonged to God and who was the Philistine to conquer a child of God?

After Goliath was defeated the King wondered who that kid was that defeated him. None knew they had to go find out. You see, David was a nobody a mere Sheppard boy to everyone else, but David knew who he was, he was a child of God! This story is a great example of perspective. The Israelites had the perspective that they were no match for a giant, but this adolescent boy had the perspective that he was a child of God, and who dare come against a child of God and win? The Israelites lost sight of to whom they belonged. They tried to fight a battle on their own, when in reality the battle was the Lords.

We all have things that seem like giants in our life. Maybe things we have struggled with all our lives or maybe new situations that have come up. But the question is: what perspective are you going to take? We are not children of God that we should be victims and defeated. If we try to fight these battles forgetting that the battle is not ours but the Lords, we will surely set ourselves up for failure. Give your giant to the Lord, and know to whom you belong! You are a child of God! What shall you fear? Meditate on these verses and ask God to show you where your perspective needs some adjusting. You are the Child of the most high, you have nothing that cannot be healed or overcome!

Blessings,

Pastor Ginny