Cinnamon in my Coffee

 Cinnamon Please!

 

   

 Lately, I have had a lingering taste, so to speak, for cinnamon. I went ahead and made some cinnamon rolls a few days ago and we have been enjoying them for breakfast with our morning cup of Java. It’s a delicious combination that satisfies the pallet. This morning while, sipping my morning brew, I had the idea to put some cinnamon in my coffee. Right then it occurred to me that cinnamon by itself has a bitter taste, but when mixed with honey or sweetener, it takes on a satisfying flavor.

 This “taste” for cinnamon produced a spiritual analogy for me. I thought about the trials and suffering we go through in this life as God‘s children. If taken by themselves, isolated from the presence and sovereignty of God, they can leave us with a sense of bitterness. However, if we look to the Father in humility for strength, grace and help during times of suffering, we can gain an appreciation for them.

 You might ask, “How can anyone appreciate suffering and trials?” Good question! As we depend upon the Lord more and more during those dark times, we come to appreciate and see His goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy, His love and benevolence in a deeper way. It is for these reasons we can say, “Lord, I thank you for the trials and storms in my life; they have shown me just how dependable you are. They have taught me to rely on You: not myself or someone else!”

 The apostle Paul put it this way, “When I am weak then I am strong.” God’s grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect and demonstrated through my weakness. Selah

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 CSB

By Mary Ann Wray