Holy Father,
Thank You for choosing us as Your royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). When You beckoned us toward You, our very entrance into Your Presence is what set us apart. Yet, this distinction wasn’t just so that we could sit on a shelf and look good. No, we were chosen as people who would “obey and be sprinkled with Your blood” (1 Peter 1:1-2). What depths of meaning such words hold.
Although I can’t fully understand it, the sprinkling of Your blood always cleanses (Romans 5:9). Because You have sprinkled me, I am now free from guilt (Leviticus 7:2-5; Hebrews 10:14). Because You have forgiven me, I don’t have to keep worrying about making amends for my sins (Hebrews 10:18). How blessed I am that You have taken care of my guilt gut forever (Romans 4:8).
Sure, there is nothing I can do to gain more of Your favor, but I must still die daily to my own thoughts, emotions and desires (1 Corinthians 15:31). Just like a vessel, tilted in order to pour out its contents, my soul must be daily tilted and poured out before You (1 Samuel 1:15). If everything remains settled inside of my emotions and thoughts, I become stagnant. But when I lean Your way, all of the surging feelings and anxieties can spill out and be absorbed into You. I guess that is why I am so often overwhelmed by my own weakness, huh? Frailty makes it that much easier to cascade into Your arms.
I am greatly encouraged to remember that Your Love, like water, rushes into the lowest lying spot. As I tilt, You rush in. Thank You for flooding Your love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). That’s a terrific trade – my spinning thoughts and worrisome emotions for Your unmeasurable concern.
In the coming days, as I make decisions about the tedium of life, I ask that You remind me to keep leaning – allowing any tension to flow out of me so that Your intimacy can take its place. Grant me wisdom to spend the right amount of time on each task, while always looking at Your face while doing so (Hebrews 12:2).
How did I know emptiness could be so filling?
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