One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4**
The prayer he prayed ignited an idea in my mind.
Your beauty is enough to spend a lifetime beholding.
Not an hour, here or there, or even a day — set apart — but a lifetime. Your beauty is layered such that I could spend every one of my days regarding it.
I know You as leader. I bow my life to You as Lord and Savior. I search You out all around me as Creator. My lips praise You as King. But beautiful One?
I adore You, beautiful God, who not only created beauty but who is beauty. Beauty begins and ends with You, Alpha and Omega. You define beauty and to know true beauty I must know You.
You are restoration. Not merely the works themselves or the scars, healed, in another, but You. Your eyes like flames of fire don’t just perceive, they engulf. Your hands and the dirt-stained fingernails of Your Son, they don’t just fashion strength, they embody strength. Your countenance, shining like the sun, is not an accessory to our already-full lives, it is our only light.
When I look, long, at You I inhale peace. And joy. And strength. You alter me by just this one long look of mine.
I adore You God who shifts my chemistry when I behold You. I praise You, Father, for moving in the moments I could so easily dismiss. I quiet my soul — I settle myself before You to simply look, to behold — and, in that beholding, I receive.
I am changed when I behold Beauty.
Yes, I could spend a lifetime unwrapping beauty with my eyes if You are the subject. You’ve made Yourself to be disrobed and discovered. You hide Yourself in different seasons of my life, all so that I might find You by staring, long, at Your beauty. What is this economy of thriving in life that You have constructed?
I bind my fickle eyes to You, for a longer stretch today than it was yesterday — though short considering my subject — and You reward me with unveiling Your beauty.
You share Yourself by this exchange. I flash a glance at You (this nanosecond compared to all of eternity) and I don’t just note beauty, I apprehend it.
I am changed when I behold.
I adore You, Father who has made my eye to know Beauty and who has made Yourself for my knowing.
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**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 and Morning Chai, Explained to give you a context for this little space on my blog.
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 — five or 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. (Showing Up gives you some practicals. Or, for those who want to listen on their morning commute, here’s a radio interview I did all about adoration.)
Then practice praise.
It’s not too late to use this adoration prayer guide, customized for March, as a start.
I promise your weary soul won’t regret it.
You can see all of the Morning Chai posts with this link: http://www.EveryBitterThingisSweet.com/posts/chai/ and you can easily subscribe to these devotional meditations as they are delivered, by using this feed: http://feeds.feedblitz.com/chai or by entering your email address in the second box on the right-hand side.
First photo compliments of Mandie Joy. Second and third photos compliments of Cherish Andrea Photography. Last photo compliments of Kamarah Photography.
