‘The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord ’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music. Hear me as I pray, O Lord . Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “ Lord , I am coming.” Do not turn your back on me. Do not reject your servant in anger. You have always been my helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me, O God of my salvation!’ Psalms 27:4-9(NLT)
‘Teach me how to live, O Lord . Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me.’ Psalms 27:11(NLT)
‘Wait patiently for the Lord . Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord .’ Psalms 27:14(NLT)
‘And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”’ Nehemiah 8:10(NLT)
Read Psalm 27:4-9, 11, 14 and Nehemiah 8:10.
If our sole desire is to love Christ fully, we must cling to His side and follow Him fully. To follow Him fully, we must pick up our cross and lose our life to live His. We must die to self, to our ways, our wants, our exaltation. It is in this death, the death of self-love, that the love of Christ comes to life in us. We must look to Him–to no one else, to nothing else–for peace, acceptance, approval, direction, and worth. We must find all of our joy in Him. He must be our great reward. We must rest fully upon the benefit we have hoped for in Him. We must rest in the Lord and not in our own righteousness. We are to put no confidence in self. In fact if we leave self behind that is when we will more fully encounter Christ.
Leaving self is no small feat, however. It means that we must leave behind our own ways, insights, wants, will, fears, insecurities, problems, concerns, must-haves, etc. The more we leave the comforts and ways of this world, the more closely we will be able to cleave to the comforts and ways of Christ. The more we rejoice in Christ, the more willing we will be to serve Him and suffer for Him, and the less danger we will be in of being drawn away from him. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
If we seek to be filled with Him and His love, we must walk with our hearts knit to His throughout the day, no matter how severe the storm or how great the distraction or how strong the temptation that comes our way.
Tomorrow we will see what this looks like practically, day to day.
Taking the Truth to Heart: Choose a Scripture to take to heart to renew your mind and transform your heart.
Putting Self to Death: What specific sin is being addressed in your life by the Scripture you wrote? Paul tells us very specifically to put off the old self.
Bringing the Truth to Life: Put on the new self–Christ. What very specific adjustments do you need to make in your thinking or attitude or behavior to submit to Him and apply His truth to your mind and heart?
from What Is True Love?