With apologies to non-coffee drinkers

Please indulge an analogy. Have you ever gotten to the bottom of a hot mocha (espresso + steamed milk + chocolate) and found all the syrupy, saucy stuff still just sitting there in a glob? Tragic, isn’t it? For maximum enjoyment, a mocha needs to be stirred up with one of those little stir sticks. Otherwise, you will miss out on the full-flavor experience you paid over $5 for.

Our hearts are like that, too, you know. By his Spirit, God has poured all kinds of good stuff into us, not the least of which is a generous shot of His love.

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. -Romans 5:5

But as it often goes, the things that give life real flavor tend to settle at the bottom. Like chocolate sauce, they require occasional stirring. That’s when we need God to take His divine stir stick and stir us up a little.

And that’s exactly what happened in the book of Ezra.

Ezra tells the story of God stirring his people to go back home to Jerusalem and rebuild after a long period of brokenness and exile. Apparently they had kind of settled in and gotten comfortable where they were, even though it was far from where they really belonged.

Can you relate?

To help motivate them to get up and get going again, first God stirred up the heart of the new king in charge, Cyrus (Ezra 1:2-4). Out of the blue, the king signed the papers and made the announcement that the exiles could go home if they wanted to. This is an amazing example of how God can stir the heart of the person you least expect in order to accomplish His redemptive work in the world.

Next, God stirred the hearts of the ministry leaders.

“Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the LORD.” -Ezra 1:5 (NLT)

And the rest is history. Once the leaders were stirred up, the people followed and the restoration movement was well on its way. A beautiful season of spiritual revitalization began as a result of God stirring up hearts. He took His divine stir stick and stirred the hearts of people to do something good.

Would you agree that we need a good stirring today? If so, take a moment now and ask God to stir your sauce. He’ll know what you mean.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.

“…as it often goes, the things that give life real flavor tend to settle at the bottom.”