Coke is a brand that is recognized by 94% of the world’s population.  It is sold in over 200 countries.  As a brand it is worth more than $74 billion dollars – that’s more than Budweiser, Pepsi, Starbucks and Red Bull combined.  Total annual sales of Coca-Cola’s beverages is over $35 billion annually, making it the 84^th largest economy in the world.

There are 1.7 billion servings of Coke consumed every day.  Americans drink an overage of 399 servings of Coke per person each year.  Mexicans drink an average of 665 servings of Coke per person annually.

One can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar and 140 calories.  Excessive consumption of Coke can lead to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, tooth decay, decreased sperm count, decreased bone calcium levels and numerous other health issues.  One can of Coke each day increases the risk of blood sugar level problems by 25%.

Studies on the negative health effects of Coke, and other similar carbonated beverages – pop, are myriad.  One thing is certain: the risk of negative health effects are far greater from drinking pop than from drinking clean water.

Our bodies are approximately 60% water.  We need water to survive and to thrive.  Without water we die.  We can live for weeks without food, we can only live for days without water.  Even slight dehydration can impact brain function, bodily functions and physical performance.  Water is a critical compound for our health and well-being.

We do not need pop to survive and thrive.

The stark contrast between these two beverages is dramatic.  One could arguably say that water is life, pop is death.  Certainly solely consuming pop and no water will lead to health defects that will shorten your life expectancy.

I believe this is the fundamental life choice we face: will we choose to consume the Living Water we need to survive and thrive, or will we consume the things of the world that may taste good and give us momentary pleasure, but will ultimately lead to our spiritual death?

So, what do you imbibe?  Are you drinking the Living Water that Jesus has offered us, or are you imbibing the things of the world that give you momentary pleasure, but are killing you?  Do you look to Jesus and His Word for life, or do you look elsewhere?

Do you believe that Jesus is your only source of life, or do you believe you can find life elsewhere?

Many years ago when I was in the midst of the Lord’s refining fires I was sitting alone in the dark one night just wanting everything to change.  I wanted my life to get better.  I began to think that the best thing I could do was run away.  I’d just get in my car and drive away.  I could leave all my troubles behind.

Of course, this was a ridiculous plan, but I really thought running away would make things better.  But as I was fantasizing about what that could look like the Lord whispered a life-altering insight into my heart,

“You still believe you can find life apart from Me.”

I believed that running away from my life and its difficulties would lead to life.  I had not firmly settled the issue that life is found in only one place – Jesus.  If I was not running to Jesus I was running away from Him.

When you are hurting, when you are discouraged, when you are scared, when you are overwhelmed, when you are anxious, when you are hopeless do you run to Jesus and drink deeply from the life He offers us, or do you go to the things of this world for life?

This situation is described in Jeremiah 2:13

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

God invites us to drink deeply of the Living Water He offers us, but we oftentimes choose to drink the “pop” of this world that will ultimately kill us.  Jesus is our only source of life.

Pop or water – what will you choose?

John 4:14

“but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jeremiah 17:13

Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.

John 7:38

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Isaiah 55: 1, 2

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.”

I’m seeing something about myself that’s not good, but it’s necessary that I see it.  The Lord, in His abundant grace, mercy and love is pulling back the veil of my heart to show me what lurks in the shadows.

He’s doing this so that I might get free of it and walk with Him in new freedom.

What am I seeing?

I’m discovering – I say “discovering” because I’m still in the midst of this journey – I’m ‘discovering’ that I seek God primarily for what He can do for, to and through me.  I have to say that again slowly to myself to try to understand this; “I primarily seek God for what He can do for, to and through me.”

So what’s wrong with that?

Well, at first glance it doesn’t look too bad.  At least it didn’t look too bad to me.  I seek God to understand what He wants me to do – to learn more about the work in which He’s inviting me to partner with Him.  What He wants to do ‘through’ me.  I ask Him to work through me to somehow touch the lives of people for His glory.  Sounds pretty good to me…

I also seek Him for what He wants to do ‘for’ me.  I want to rely on the Lord’s strength, to not do things on my own.  I ask the Lord to move on my behalf, to open doors that are closed, to grant favour where needed to do what I believe He has called me to do, to grant me influence to again do what He’s asking me to do for the benefit of others.  Ok, sounds pretty good to me…

I also seek Him for what He wants to do ‘to’ me: Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in me and through me Lord.  Change my heart God.  Free me from that which hinders me from serving you.  Fill me with the Holy Spirit; less of me and more of you…sounds pretty good to me.

Is any of this bad?  No.  Is it wrong for me to seek God this way?  No.  Am I missing something?  Yes.

So what am I missing?

I realize I’m seeking Him for me, not for Him.  My love for Him is a selfish love.

I want to learn to seek Him for Him.  He’s the pearl of great price.  He’s the treasure.  He’s the goal.  He’s love.  He’s life.  He’s the destination, the objective.

What would my relationship with my wife be like it I only pursued her for what she could do for, to and through me?  Not good!  I try to pursue her to delight in her.  To enjoy who she is – period.  Not because of what she can do for me.

Years ago I read a book called We Would See Jesus by Roy and Revel Hession.  I’m now rereading it.  One particular aspect of the book – its core message – profoundly impacted me at the time.  Sadly, my grasp of that truth has slowly eroded over the years.  Here is the truth,

“’What is the purpose of life?’ it is to know, and to love and to walk with God; that is to see God.”

The famous Westminster Confession answered the question, “What is the chief end of man?”:

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

I have focussed on the doing, on the working, on the service, on the accomplishing for God.  In doing so I’ve missed an aspect of knowing God.  Yes, I know God to a certain degree, but there is something more to knowing Him for Him, not for what He can do to, for and through me.

Lord, I don’t totally understand, but would You please shift my heart, help me to know You, to see You, to love You, for You.  I want to learn to delight in You – period.  To enjoy You – period.  To love You – period.

Lord, please help all of us to seek You for You.  Would you birth a hunger in us for You – period.

We would see Jesus.

Psalm 27:4

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

Psalm 42:1, 2

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.   When can I go and meet with God?”

Philippians 3:8

“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”

“What is your primary emotion?”

Interesting question.

“What exactly do you mean?”, I asked.

“Well, in day to day life, what do you feel most often?”, my friend clarified.

Ok, that’s what I thought.  Hmm, what would it be?  There are 5 basic emotions: joy, sadness, fear, anger and disgust.  All of which were poignantly illustrated in the movie Inside Out.

I’d have to go with joy.  The more I thought about it I realized that I know my Father loves me.  I know God delights in me.  I know that He has promised never to leave me or forsake me.  I know He has promised to provide for all my needs.  I know that every good and perfect gift is provided by my Father of Lights.  I know that I am the joy of the Lord.

He is a good father and I am loved by Him.

I don’t live in fear.  I don’t live in sadness.  I don’t live in anger or disgust.  Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t experience those emotions, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be human.  I experience them frequently – some much more than others.  But those aren’t my ‘primary’ emotions.

I shared my thoughts with my friend.

“So what about you?”

My friend then shared she had begun to realize that her primary emotions were fear and sadness.  Sure she experienced joy from time to time, but that wasn’t her day to day experience.  And, her revelation was getting even deeper…

My friend realized that she believed joy has a price tag.  If she did experience joy, she would have to pay for it later.  Joy isn’t free, it will cost you.

Wow.

That does not sound good.  Why would you ever want to be happy if you knew it was going to cost you, if you knew it was going to come back and bite you?  That sounds like an amazingly twisted lie meant to steal all the joy the Lord has for my friend.

Our emotions are both voluntary and involuntary.  We can experience emotions involuntarily:  meaning that in the midst of whatever state you are in you can suddenly experience any of the 5 emotions by something occurring beyond your control.  You receive some great news – joy; you receive some bad news – sadness; you narrowly escape a car accident – fear; someone does something unjust to you – anger; you drink sour milk – disgust; these emotions well up inside you on an involuntary basis.

In addition, we can choose each of these emotions – and indeed we should choose each of them.  Scripture is filled with exhortations to choose these emotions: we are encouraged to rejoice in the Lord; the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; share in others people’s sadness; be angry and disgusted with sin; amongst many others.

However, is there a primary emotion we can choose to live in?

Yes, I believe there is.  I believe we can primarily live in joy.  This side of heaven we will experience all 5 basic emotions, but we can still primarily live in joy.

Jesus for the joy set before Him endured the cross.  What was the joy set before Jesus?  You and me!  The joy that drove Jesus forward was knowing that through His death and resurrection mankind would be able to live in right relationship with our Heavenly Father as beloved sons and daughters of God.

You and I are the joy of the Lord.  He delights in us.  He rejoices over us with singing.  We have been called to live in the joy of the Lord because we are His joy.

So, does joy have a price?  Yes it does, and it has been paid by Jesus.  Jesus gave His life to ransom us from the domain of darkness so we need no longer live in constant fear, sadness, anger or disgust.  We can live in joy because of what He has done.

We can freely live in joy by believing the Truth of what Jesus has done for us.  We can choose joy.  Indeed, if we are to truly experience God’s heart for us, we must choose joy.

Joy has a price, but it’s been paid by Jesus.  Choose joy.

John 15:9-11

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.  Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Psalm 33:21

“In him our hearts rejoice for we trust in his holy name.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16

“Be joyful always.”

The clouds are low and the rain constant; the wind is still and the ocean calm.

For the most part the rain was captured in the upper branches of the cedars and Douglas Firs, but large drops would break through the canopy at irregular intervals to crash onto the leaves of the low level shrubbery just outside our front window. The small branches would flex under the weight of the drop, then rebound back up to their original position as the water droplets slid off.

If you’re really quiet you can hear the pitter patter of the rain on the roof’s cedar shakes, as well as the gentle waves of the pacific lapping against the shore just below the picture windows at the front of the cabin. My wife and I are staying a number of days in a tiny one room cabin on the ocean’s edge amidst a glorious temperate rainforest on the east coast of Vancouver Island.

The air inside the cottage is slightly seasoned with the smoky fragrance of the wood stove taking the chill out of the moist, cool March air. The odd super-charged crackle from the fire is the loudest sound we hear at the moment.

We are here to rest. We are here to slow down. We are here to be quiet. We are here to be still.

None of which I do very well.

I find myself wondering, “What will I ‘do’ during our time here?” Well, maybe nothing. “Yes, but I don’t ‘do’ nothing well.” That’s because you can’t really “do” nothing – nothing is the absence of “doing”. Isn’t it?

I’m in uncharted waters here.

Lord, please help me. I know you exhort us to ‘Be still and know that You are God.’ There is something we discover about You in the stillness. You are found in unique ways when we choose to slow down, rest, be quiet and be still.

It’s hard.

It’s almost like I am out of control and must trust that You will speak to me, commune with me, interact with me according to Your initiative. My part is simply to surrender the demands of my world to You, to step off the treadmill, breathe, be and listen.

To ‘be’ silent – not just ‘do’ silent.

I find it very hard to ‘do’ silent, let alone ‘be’ silent. Doing silent is simply not talking. Being silent is actually creating an inner silence. It’s calling a time out in the emotional and cognitive rugby game going on in my mind and heart.

Being still is a whole other challenge. ‘Doing’ still is tough enough – not moving around much. Changing the pace of my movement – of my life – is difficult, “Ok, consciously shift from high gear to low gear. Slow down. Now, shift from slow to stop.”

What? “Stop” is counterproductive. Or perhaps “stop” is counter intuitive?

If we “stop” and are silent can we actually be and do more? Perhaps as we choose to be still and be silent we are infused with the heart and presence of God that cannot occur any other way? In the stillness and silence do we find God anew?

I trust this to be true.

In Psalm 46:10 when the Lord exhorts of to, “Be still and know that I am God.”, it is in the midst of the tumult. The psalm begins with the promise that,

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountain fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountain quake with their surging.” Psalm 46:1-3

That doesn’t sound very “still” and “silent” does it?

However, in the midst of the cacophony of the crisis the Lord promises that, “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46:7

Not only that, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” Psalm 46:5

Even in the midst of the cacophony of crisis the Lord invites us to be still and discover Him in a new way. Let’s fix the eyes of our hearts on the truth that He is with us, He is our help, He is our fortress, He is our joy, and we can choose stillness and silence in the tumult and know Him.

May we all know how to be still and be silent, that we may know Him.