Most of my grown children love coffee, and their preference, along with so many others of their generation, is Starbucks. They prefer to grind the beans immediately before brewing, and then they make it so strong, I have to water mine down. When they were all home at Christmas, we were going through quite a few bags of coffee and grinding it with a small, inefficient grinder by poking the end of a scissors into the slot where a lever used to be.

One afternoon I decided to make a pot of coffee, knowing we’d all benefit from the caffeine. I reached toward the top shelf where the old grinder was kept with an open bag of Starbuck’s waiting on the counter. When I pulled the grinder down, its plug nicked the open bag, knocking it to the floor and scattering coffee beans everywhere.

“Oh no!” I said out loud, picturing dust bunnies and dog hair jumping all over the whole mess. On hands and knees I carefully scooped up the cleanest beans and put them back into the bag. After all, the coffee-maker’s filter would catch any unwanted debris. But the rest I swept into a dust pan and dumped into the trash. My good intentions hadn’t done much for the coffee lovers in the house.

We’ve all heard the expression, “He did it with the best of intentions…” which is usually spoken with a serious expression and a shake of the head. Most of us assess whether a deed is good or bad based on the end result, not on the intentions.

God does exactly the opposite. Intentions are everything.

He studies us from the inside out, checking our thoughts and the intent behind every action. If we do something for someone else hoping for a favor in return, for example, our good deed is neutralized. But if we do something we hope will help another and it doesn’t (or possibly even hurts them), our intentions still count for good.

But what about our intentions toward God? Do the same rules apply?

I think they do, which is good news when we fall short of pleasing him or fail to make the right decision. If our intentions are positive, he responds with love and lets us begin again. He’ll even assist us in doing that.

Although my intention that afternoon was good, coffee-all-around turned into coffee-on-the-ground. Repairing that blunder wasn’t difficult, but what about starting over after our more serious mistakes? That doesn’t have to be difficult either, because if our intentions were good, God will sort it out. He’ll make things even better than a cup of good, strong coffee.

“The power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions. I obviously need help! I can will it, but I can’t do it. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.” (Romans 7:18,24,25, The Message)