Seeking daily the heart of God is a goal I don’t always accomplish, but it is where I want my heart to wander, as I wake up to start each day. Like the Psalmist who says, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8). Character calibration by Christ in the morning makes my heart align with heaven’s agenda, and gets me off on the right foot of faith. Time with God is a time saver that I am learning I can’t live without.
But I still struggle to stay consistent and true to trust Him. Life is messy and it tends to mess up my regiment of praise and prayer, but I persist because I know He knows I have to live life through the ups of answered prayer, and the downs of discouragement from unmet expectations.
Like Peter some days I want to stay with Jesus on the mountaintop of worship, and other days I trudge through the valley of despair. But my overarching desire is to be loved by my heavenly Father, so I can in turn learn to love others and myself from the over flow of His tender mercy and grace.
It is regular visits back to the cross of Christ that reminds me of God’s great love. The Lord’s transaction of grace covered my sin, and freed me into a relationship of intimacy with the Almighty. It is in the shadow of my Saviors suffering that I am able to deal with suffering. When I recall His unjust rejection, am I then able to handle rejection. His love for those who did not deserve love compels me to love without expecting anything in return. His unselfish service motivates me to not only serve, but also invite being treated as a servant. His trust in the face of fierce trials fashions my faith to focus on Him.
David was a man who sought the heart of God (Acts 13:22). He was not a sinless seeker, but one who needed a Savior. He sought the Lord in spite of his lies, his lust, his adultery, and his murder. Satan’s scheme is to get us to give up, or not feel worthy of worship or the wonder of His great grace. So we seek Jesus because we need Jesus, not just for our salvation but also for our sanctification. Because we are a work in process we stay in a prayerful process. Only when we quit showing up do we fail to see security in our Savior.
My devotional writings are somewhat autobiographical as they reflect real time the place I find myself at work and home, failures and successes, fatigue and rest, fear and faith, uncertainty and hope, hurt and healing, anger and forgiveness, rejection and acceptance, apathy and love, and gloom and gladness. I write out of real life to real people about a real God. I pray the Lord will love on you, as you linger before Him in meditation.
Seek Him even when you don’t feel like it, or when you are too busy, and He will reward your faithfulness. The Bible says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
I am still learning and I have a lot to learn, but I know this one thing: like a farmer who day in and day out plows, plants and cultivates will one day by God’s grace be blessed with a harvest, so will you. The Bible says, “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:2).
(Excerpt from Seeking Daily the Heart of God by: Boyd Bailey)
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I am deeply moved by this meditation and I am grateful that you were obedient to our loving God and Father when you wrote it. In my opinion, it takes great courage to be transparent and your willingness to be so truthful is truly an encouragement and inspiration to me. It also reminds me that all of us are a work in progress and you have given me permission not to be so hard on myself when I get a bit off course.You are so right when you said that you “write out of real life to real people about a real God.” and for that I wish to simply say “Thank you.” May the blessings that you have poured into my life by writing this meditation be mulitplied back to you a thousandfold!!!