His Gifts

"Let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them sing with joy forever. Protect them, and let those who love your name triumph in you." Psalm 5:11
 
Taking time to fast and pray today, the first thing that entered my head was to praise Him.

You are the Lord who sings praises to us, Lord on High, through the birds and the sun and the stars and the evening breezes. You share your everlasting love with us every day, Lord, yet we-in our busyness, our self-absorption, our pride, our petty hurts and annoyances-turn away from You.

My heart grieves for those who do not stop to savor the simple splendors of a child's belly laugh in response to the excited licks of a puppy, or a tear escaping the eye of a man's loving look at his wife of 50 years as he takes her hand in his, or a piece of music, literature or Scripture written by one who knows our heart deep down to its core and touches us, weaving words that forever tie us to the moment we hear it or read it.

You, Lord, create these moments for us, binding us to You in love, in courage and in faith. You reveal yourself to us in all You do, Father God. You encourage us, teach us, favor us, and above all, sacrificed Your Son for us. What kind of love and mercy is that? 

The kind that brings me to my knees. The kind that makes me weep without ceasing. The kind that creates in me a thirst for You in a parched and deserted land. The kind that causes me to stand courageously and lift my arms to heaven and proclaim, "I love You with all my heart!"

You told us that we are Your masterpiece, Lord, yet we have done nothing to deserve this magnificent title and honor. You are the potter and we are the clay; if You see us as such it is only due to the strength and power You bestow on us, the beauty You see in us through Your eyes, Lord.

I pray today to live up to what and who You have created me to be, Lord. I know that You are not yet finished with me, and I pray that, in the finishing, You create in me a desire to make Your will my own, to make Your path mine, and to make my love for You greater than any love I have ever known. I pray, Father God, to know You more deeply with every passing day, to walk in the fruit of the Holy Spirit and to be a living sacrifice and beacon of the Light of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.