I will love you, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1**
I choose love, because, today, love is a choice for me. It doesn’t come naturally. In fact all of life’s inertia seems to be pushing me towards a calcified version of me. Inward-gazing looks appealing until its sting overwhelms my thinking and penetrates the heart level.
But You, God, offer another way. Love. Worship. Adoration.
The most unlikely time to look up is the perfect time. When confronted with loss, all that feels empty about me and about life, is when You offer Yourself as an exchange.
I choose love. I choose You. I choose the God who is always breathing life and hope and promise against the fumes of death that I’ve inadvertently inhaled in my person. You are the God of the yes when my life says no. You are always working a win when I feel crushed by my latest loss.
God of strength, I choose You as my strength.
Yes, I will love. Even now, knees weak and eyes searching for solution. I will love out of loss.
I will adore. I will call You what You are. Beauty, love, life. Drops of dew against my drought, the strength that one Word of Yours embodies is accessible to me when I worship. The most unlikely moments of despair are won to hope when I speak out about Your love and lift my arms up.
I love You, oh God my strength. I will love You, oh God my strength. I declare it to You, to me, to the enemy awaiting every opportunity to steal, kill and destroy beauty. You are Love and because of You in me, I can choose Love. I can choose active participation in the battle of my life.
And its there that I gain strength.
I love You, God of all that is strength inside of me. I worship You, God who is warring against all my weakness with all that You are. I adore you Father who overshadows my loss with Your gain.
Oh God, You offer a heavenly, holy way out: Your love.
So I declare back to me with my words before my body is even ready to walk it out: I will love. Because You made words to matter and my adoration allows activation of You in me and me wrapped inside of You. Strength.
**So what do I do with these posts, you ask, other than just read them? First, if you haven’t yet, read: Why I Adore to give you a context for this little space on my blog. (This post also gives context.)
If you are compelled, I invite you to participate. Set up a space and time in your own life to begin adoring. Over laundry or dinner dishes, on your commute to work, or in the wee morning hours — ten minutes is a great start. You can use the verse I list here every day or two as a launch pad for your own adoration.
Then practice praise.
Add to my adoration here, by posting a comment with your own words back to God about God …or hide it in your heart.
I promise your weary soul won’t regret it.
***You can easily subscribe to these devotional meditations as they are delivered, by using this feed: http://www.EveryBitterThingisSweet.com/posts/chai/feed or by entering your email address in the second box on the right-hand side… (scroll up a bit)
Additionally, all of the Morning Chai Posts can be seen, in the order of posting, by clicking here or adding this address to your reader: http://EveryBitterThingisSweet.com/posts/chai
