I Got Coffee with My Younger Self: Living as Witnesses to the Goodness of God

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve not been on social media much, needing a break from the mental noise and desiring to engage with longer-form content from the writers, teachers, and news sources I follow.

The few times I went on Instagram earlier this month, I noticed a trend: several of those I followed had posted a reel with the caption “I got coffee with my younger self” followed by a sentence or two describing how this coffee date went and highlighting ways they have grown or things they have learned since those younger days.

If you’re on Instagram you’ve probably seen these reels, and maybe even created one of your own!

If I were to participate in this trend, my reel’s caption would have to say, “I got tea with my younger self” because I don’t drink coffee, and never have.

And for the following sentence, there’s so many things I could say…

I got tea with my younger self. She doubted her worth the whole time.
I got tea with my younger self. She let the fear of disappointing others decide for her.
I got tea with my younger self. She was horrified to find out we’re still single at 33 years old.
I got tea with my younger self. She missed the joy and fun of it because she was too busy daydreaming, “If only I was married…”
I got tea with my younger self. She overthought what kind of tea to get for fear of making the wrong choice.

By the grace of God, there are many ways my younger self has changed and grown to become more confident in who I am in Christ and more joyful in His goodness in my right now life, and by grace of God, I’ll continue to grow in confidence and joy in Jesus.

We can’t really get coffee or tea with our younger selves, but what if we could sit across the table from them with a warm beverage in hand?

What might you say to your younger self to encourage, support, and help them? What would you testify to as the ways God has worked for good and woven His grace and revealed His glory in your life? What could you point out to them as God’s faithfulness in that very moment of your life that your younger self is not yet seeing?

And what if we were to get coffee or tea with our older selves? What encouragement or wisdom would they give to us? What might they share about where we’re at right now and where God leads us to? Will they testify to God’s goodness, grace, and glory in our lives? Would they point out evidence of God’s faithfulness in our right now lives that our eyes aren’t noticing?

In Hebrews 11, a number of people who lived “by faith” are written about, and Hebrews 12 calls these people of faith a “great cloud of witnesses”.

What were they witnesses of? What do their lives of faith witness to?

The goodness and faithfulness and graciousness and loving-kindness of God.

The goodness and faithfulness and graciousness and loving-kindness of God to them and through them, even as they waited for the promised land, the promised blessing, the promised Child.

Those listed in Hebrews 11 didn’t witness the coming of the Messiah, but they were witnesses to His coming: their lives pointed with hope and anticipation to Jesus and the truly good news that His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension is for us—as all of the Old Testament does.

After reading in Hebrews 11 of these people of faith whose lives testified to Christ, Hebrews 12 begins with the word Therefore.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…

Therefore, or in light of these testimonies to God’s goodness and faithfulness and graciousness and loving-kindness, we are called to throw off the sin that separates us from deepening relationship with the Father, to get rid of the distractions that hinder us from walking fully in step with the Spirit, and to run the race God calls us to without losing heart. We do all this by fixing our eyes on Jesus as the Source, the Sustainer, and the Satisfaction of our faith.

We’re not able to get coffee or tea with our younger or older selves, but we can take time to remember and reflect on the ways God has been faithful throughout our lives; we can open our eyes to recognize and rejoice in His loving-kindness poured into our right-now lives; and we can look forward to, trust in, and submit to the work of His grace and goodness that He will continue to do for the rest of our lives.

In light of this, what do we need to do?

Are there old sin-patterns to throw off? Are there thoughts or habits that need to be renewed? Are there distractions to get rid of? Are there steps to take to follow where God is leading? Are there truths and promises you need to once again remember and cling to and stand on? Do you need to refocus your gaze on Jesus and find your hope and joy in Him anew?

Let’s grab some coffee or tea, and open our eyes to be witnesses of, and live our lives to be witnesses to, the goodness, the faithfulness, the graciousness, the loving-kindness, the enoughness of Christ.

Because He is worth it, and He is worthy of it.