I sit with my Bible in my lap and my head rested back against the chair, eyes casing the ceiling. I am so far away from understanding Your peace, I moan. My mind rolls round and round the same old topics, trapped. My heart has been in knots, I’m realizing for days, as I live within the small world my fears and anxieties have created for me.
How do I claw my way out of this?
It’s right here that I adore.
He brings me to a place I’m not meant to understand, but that I can receive when I adore.
Adoration takes me out of my thoughts and into His.
So, here goes.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God: and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7**
I could cry over my Bible through the cycle of frustration and, then, relief as I realize this profound truth: You surpass my understanding.
God who bent, low, to reach His people who lived, low, You give to me of Yourself — words and thoughts and ways of living that go beyond all that I am and take me deep into the heart of You.
You impart.
And I am changed when I receive Your impartation.
I live, limited, and You are forever revealing to me the unseen of Yourself. You lift me up and out of me and into all the beauty and strength and might of You. Minute-by-minute I am offered an exit from this life that confines me.
You are limitless, God, and I adore You.
You guard with that which goes beyond all I can understand. I live in this broken frame and You don’t just drip — but pour — out and into me the newness of Yourself that goes beyond what I can conceive, all the while guarding me.
You stand post against all that plagues me, while You revive me.
And I breathe. Finally, I breathe, when I receive.
I was made to receive, You, oh God of whom I can just barely understand. I adore You. I worship all that I cannot fathom in You and, as I do, You protect me and You expand my understanding of You.
The peace You gave in flesh’s sweat, mingled with blood, that fell from the face of Your Son is the peace I have access to today. You settled it on that tree and I have access to heaven’s sigh of relief when I receive from You.
As I adore the God who put on skin to reach me, to right the earth, I find the steadying peace that comes from my alignment with You.
You align me and my body collapses into the arms of a safe guard.
I adore You.
**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 so 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 verses I list here every day or two as a launch pad for your own adoration. (Showing Up gives you some practicals.)
Then practice praise.
I promise your weary soul won’t regret it.
Thanks to Mandie Joy, who took the chicken-scratch from my moleskine journal and made it pretty, we have an adoration guide for the month of June. It’s never too late to start looking up — I invite you to join in as we adore Him, the God of hope.
And, if you are following us on instagram, Mandie Joy has adoration instagrams for each day we’re adoring. [The girl is amazing!]
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… (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
Photos compliments of Mandie Joy.
