Author: astherainandsnow

“Your words were found, and I ate them,
    and your words became to me a joy
    and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
    O Lord, God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

“The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:7-11

There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, and dictionaries full of innumerable words from those letters, yet the living and active Word of God is unlike any other compilation. The Bible is inspired by Almighty God, the One who was and is and ever shall be. The Word reveals Jesus, the Way and Truth, and is complete, all we need to know and live for Him. (John 1:1-2; 10:35; 14:6; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:8; 22:18-19)

In a day when words fly fast and sting hard, what word is our compass? In the array of words read and voices heard, what is our filter? What effect do words have, and where are they driving my attention and affection?

“O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy word, and I loved Thee.” St. Augustine 

Exposing ourselves to God’s Word as a daily exercise makes a significant difference in what we believe about God and His world, how we worship, think, process and understand past and current events, and behave. Since it reveals our Lord to us, we cannot help but become familiar through His word with His teaching, His way of dealing with mankind; His character, His holiness, His justice, His forbearance, His beauties, His mercy. Are we taking advantage of its riches?

The Word of God enlightens and convicts, revealing the deception of the human heart. Am I regularly humbling myself before its light? It teaches, molds, inspires, and directs. Is it my first place to look for guidance? It gives voice to our longings and fears, soothes, comforts and encourages. Am I in the practice of reading, reciting, memorizing, singing, and sharing it? In what other words do I waste time foraging? Am I in the habit of tasting its delight and joy? (Psalm 119:105; Jeremiah 17:9; John 1:9-14,16)

Would we open our wills to seek, and our eyes to see, the Word’s worth and wisdom? Feed daily on it! Fear God through it! Depend well on it! Be humbled by it! Take strength from it! Fight temptation with it! Abide in and by it! Remain fixed under it! Stand firm upon it! Rule carefully with it! (Deuteronomy 17:18-20; Ephesians 6:17)

Good Father, strike my heart daily with Your word so I love You more and more. Keep me nestled in it, nourished by it, ever repeating it, that Your word have its full way with and through me.

““Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord...

For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace.” Isaiah 55:1-2,6-7,12

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” Psalm 63:1-3,5

There is so much available that does not satisfy. Everywhere we look, glossy treats of enticing images, expert-speak, you-must-haves, and hollow accolades entice with hollow promise, full only of empty calories. In daily life, we go from meal to meal, toy to toy, activity to activity, and in our busy-frenzy fail to hear the growl of true soul hunger.

It is the devil’s scheme to drown out the gnaw, to distract us from what really matters in life, and keep our eyes and affections and passions caught up in the temporary and meaningless. The more we invest emotion (that drains), financial outlay (that depletes), and physical and mental energy (that diminish) in the insignificant, the more meager our lasting return. Our will wearies in the dry land, we lose our taste for what lasts, and we neglect pursuing what satisfies soul and spirit. Yet, it is this, Himself, to which the Lord beckons us freely come and partake. ‘Focus on it, pursue it, spend yourselves for it– because in Me will you find what you are looking for.’

Where do I go in my mind, my schedule, looking for lesser things? At the end of the day, or month, how much have I spent on what I can’t even recall, and have nothing to show for? What must I forsake to seek the Lord each morning, and His priorities for my resources, and the determination to see them through?

With whom will I discuss these decisions, seek advice, be held accountable, for doing all for the glory of God, and procuring what satisfies, not only my soul, but others’?

“God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
‘Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!’
The LORD of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46:1-3,5-6,8-11

“‘With everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the LORD, your Redeemer… ‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the LORD.” Isaiah 54:8,10

When all around us shifts, and life as we know it is altered forever, God is the same, and steady: He does not change, He cannot be moved. A job is eliminated, and our future is uncertain. A loved one dies, and we enter a new life alone. Riots rock and damage, diseases ravage and maim, storms destroy and uproot, accusations fly and ruin, yet God is in the midst of all as refuge, strength, and power. His very presence is help.

God’s word gives life, causes death, imparts His Spirit, silences the sea, transforms with truth. He who brings desolations also heals and restores. He raises up and He brings low; brings to naught the wise and strong. God in the midst governs the world and all creation. He is actively working His sovereign plan for history in everything that transpires, all for His exaltation among the nations. (Genesis 2:7; Psalm 75:7; Isaiah 53:5; Daniel 2:21; Malachi 3:6; Mark 4:39; John 20:22; 1 Corinthians 1:27-29; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Timothy 3:16)

When our hearts are frenzied, be still. When our minds are scattered, not knowing how or what to think, be still. When truth and reason seem blurred, settle still in His word. When our dander gets riled, our emotions rage, our defenses rise, our words want to fly, be still. Allow the fact that He is God to seep into every part of your being, and be still. Know He is God, and that He is and will be exalted.

What keeps us from trusting in this hope? Where have we replaced Him with changing or meaningless gods, and refused Him as Lord? When moving mountains rock us, would we be still, and steady ourselves in Him and His promises?

Lord on high, may I set You ever before me and be still, not shaken. Keep me steadfast and immovable. May every nation of my heart impulses and wandering thoughts exalt Your unshakable sameness and unchanging, infinite glory, even as You exalt Yourself in the earth. (Psalm 16:8; 1 Corinthians 15:58)

“Remember your word to your servant,
    in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
    that your promise gives me life…
When I think of your rules from of old,
    I take comfort, O Lord…
Your statutes have been my songs
    in the house of my sojourning.
I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
    and keep your law.
This blessing has fallen to me,
    that I have kept your precepts.

You have dealt well with your servant,
    O Lord, according to your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
    for I believe in your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
    but now I keep your word.
You are good and do good;
    teach me your statutes…
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
    that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is better to me
    than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” Psalm 119:49-50,52,54-56,65-68,71-72

Music is a powerful tool for the human heart. God’s gift of song, created at the beginning for the birds and morning stars to elicit joy, teaches us a magnificent dimension of His majestic design, the exquisite symmetry of notes harmonizing, of orchestras playing, all mysteriously plucking at our sense of hearing and at the deepest parts of our souls. The Lord who rejoices over us with singing He sets His word in our hearts so we can spread His song abroad into our worlds, its revelatory tunes lingering to affect outlooks and attitudes. (Genesis 1:20-21; Job 38:7; Zephaniah 3:17; Ephesians 5:19)

In all of David’s sojournings, his shepherding in the fields, escaping in the wilderness, ruling from Hebron and Jerusalem, God’s statutes, His word, were his song, both his background music and the sweet savor of his speech and praise. (Psalm 23; 40:1-5)

God’s statutes supply the words for our living, descriptions of our great God whom we endeavor to know, truth for meditation to direct our thinking and conversing, lines of specific instruction, light to make our way forward clear. (Psalm 19:7; 32:8; 119:105)

God’s word sets a rhythm and tempo for our days, instilling priorities, setting guidance in motion one decision at a time, disciplining us unto holiness, training us how to behave, where to serve, whom to love, and when. (Isaiah 30:21; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 12:10)

God’s word has for us specific notes to sing as we exercise particular and unique gifts. We sing different parts that harmonize within the body, to bring about His purposes and glory. (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; Ephesians 2:10)

God’s word is our melody, a memorable tune that brings delight, order, and beauty to our hours; that satisfies our senses, and revives and fortifies our souls; that adds vibrancy and loveliness to our interactions with others. (Psalm 19:7-8,10; 119:103)

The Word made flesh is our Savior, our living Song who resides in us. How melodious are our routines, our interactions, our ways of loving, because of Him? Does our presence plant in others a glad song that inspires, and encourages, and glorifies God? (John 1:1-4; 14:16)

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing,
keeps me singing as I go.”  ~Luther B. Bridges (1910)

My Father, as You daily sow Your living word in me, may I sing a new song that exalts You on the throne of my heart, and of the world. (Psalm 96:1)

“Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.” “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Psalm 112:4; 119:18

“Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
    and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
    and rely on his God.” Isaiah 50:10 

“ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:16-20

Like a watchman, I gazed early at the dark sky, awaiting the coming sun to cast its spell of color on the disarray of clouds strewn across the horizon. As I prayed for insight, I watched the answer of celestial light bring to life and vibrancy what had been only grey streaks moments before. Lit from beneath, the clouds now showed texture and shape, and were tinted with glory. God does that.

In His wondrous way, He enlightens our hearts from inside and unseen places to cause us to see and understand anew. He grants spiritual discernment where we’d had confusion, or no answer. He brings clarity and order to every disarray of emotion and thought. He removes the veil of unbelief when we cry for faith to trust His truth. (Mark 9:24; John 20:25-28; 1 Corinthians 14:33)

Common grace affords some an especially sharp and able intellect, a penchant to think deeply and procure wisdom beyond their years. Yet, for those who do not know Jesus and have not the Spirit, theirs is not a supernatural insight, nor do they have the Spirit’s restraint. “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

For those in Christ, we own spiritual riches, including wisdom and discernment, and the power to implement them. We often need special wisdom for certain situations at specific times, and God grants it, sometimes in answer to our pleading, sometimes as an unexpected anointing. Yet in order for us to develop ongoing, keen spiritual eyesight, He teaches that the foundation for wisdom is to fear Him. He invites us to ask for it, to search for wisdom as treasure. Every murky cloud of unexpected circumstance, disappointment, personal attack, despondency, or forced change is an opportunity to open our eyes to Him and call out, ‘Lord, help me see, and understand!’ Do we avail ourselves His offer? (1 Kings 3:3-9; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 2:1-11; 9:10; Ephesians 1:3; James 1:5)

Lord, open my eyes daily to You, to all You have given me and have for me. Please grant holy insight and the courage to apply it for my times, for every encounter, for Your praise.

“This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” Deuteronomy 26:16-19

In a wedding ceremony, two people make mutual declarations of commitment, vows to love and cherish the other no matter what, for the whole of life. They declare what is true now, and what they determine to uphold in the future. As God was establishing His chosen people, He brought them into a similar union with Him, setting a pattern of their regular offering to Him of their firstfruits, a symbol of their ongoing allegiance to Him. In their careful obedience, they were declaring that He was the LORD their God, worthy of their best, and that they were His holy people, as He had declared over them.

When we grasp what God has said about us and done for us, our lives will reflect those truths. We can set aside preoccupation with ourselves and think differently from the world: we are God’s treasured possession, His image-bearers. We will value every life, no matter creed or color or nationality, age or accomplishment or background: He breathes breath into living beings, has fearfully and wonderfully made us, and sets in honor His people. We will endeavor to utilize our spiritual gifts in employment of our time and resources: He has given us guidelines for living, and bestowed gifts for the fruitful working of His body, the church. We will offer ourselves as living sacrifices and our means in gratitude: everything we have is from His hands. (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Psalm 139:13-16; Romans 12:1,3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; James 1:17)

Before we spout forth like tidal waves our opinions, reactions, offenses, criticisms, or corrections, would we contemplate what is true about us, and how that should change our declarations? In what ways will God’s covenant to me inform and direct my view of others, and of required obedience to His principles in dealing with them? What will my speech say about what I believe to be true about God and the people He has designed and created? How do my choices and actions reflect that I am His chosen, the object of His affection, holy as He? (Leviticus 11:44)

Father, because of Your grace banner over me, I declare to You my fealty, my undying and careful devotion to Your ways, my desire to see You glorified in my life and the world. Help me live and speak in a way that brings honor to Your name and exalts You as faithful LORD.

“For the Lord comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
    her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment…
but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
My righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

““I, I am he who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of man…
 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
    who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the foundations of the earth?” Isaiah 51:3,6-8,11-13

Waste places are varied: loss of dreams, livelihood, time never to be retrieved; grief; unseized opportunities; broken relationships; failure; loneliness; destitution. Different shapes and sizes that pierce, gnarl, squeeze, twist, and suffocate. Visible or invisible, eating at lives and homes, cultures and the human heart. But God knows all waste places, and enters them to comfort and redeem. Our every waste place magnifies His astounding haste to grace on our behalf.

“Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places..;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed.” Isaiah 52:9

Waste as a verb: to use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose; squander. Verb waste places are often regretted, as there is no turning back or starting over when we have wasted a resource now depleted, or time now past. But waste as a verb is restored by salvation. The Lord says, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” (Joel 2:25-26)

Waste as an adjective: not used, cultivated, or built on; eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required. Adjective waste places describe any talent or chance that lies fallow, void of vitality, is never honed to make a difference, or developed to fruition; any trial that is never learned from, or lesson not implemented or applied. But adjective waste places, by God’s Spirit, can be transformed and rejuvenated. God says, “The Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field… I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.” (Isaiah 32:15; 42:16)

Waste as a noun: material that is not wanted; unusable remains or byproducts. We might feel insignificant, unessential, insecure, without purpose or direction. We might own a heritage, a past, an education or experience that seems meaningless. But whether cast off, kicked out, eliminated, or apparently senseless, our noun waste places are redeemed by Jesus. “As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs.” (Psalm 84:6)

Lord, plant Your garden of joy and hope in my wildernesses. Bloom for all the world to see!

“O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures. 

When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.” 

“You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it;
    you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
    you provide their grain,
    for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
    the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
    the valleys deck themselves with grain,
    they shout and sing together for joy.“ Psalm 104:24,30; 65:8-13;

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
    like willows by flowing streams.” Isaiah 44:3-4

Love wanes in windswept dearth. Friction roars. Shouts choke, what-ifs drown, peace takes flight into night.

Sun warms a ready earth. Rains pour. Sprouts poke, babies hatch, birds take flight, aright.

How long, oh Lord, until You renew Your people?

Keeping our eyes on the cracked, thirsty land keeps us looking low, thinking low, feeling low, expecting low. The drone of complaint, incessant warnings of new dread, fiery fears that capture day and night, emotion and thought, will only press and hold us low. When we take in no divine rain, our hearts dry out and harden.

But halt! Arise! Open wide your eyes! Behold the manifold, wondrous works of God, “who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water”! Trace the visit of His hand, the overflow of beauty and blessing and vibrant life! Face full on His warm sun, and allow it to melt your icy heart. Why wallow in the negative when we can skip in the superlative? Why castigate, criticize, and condemn when we can encourage, elevate, and exalt? Why be parched when we can freely drink? (Psalm 114:8; Revelation 22:17)

The God who renews all things stands ready to create, transform, and enrich. What languishing can I bring for His revival, what unease for His settling? What rough talk needs His smoothing, what hollow affection His filling? What lack needs His abundance, what inertia His vitality? What anger needs His calming, what veil of heaviness His covering of praise? What hollow despair needs hope’s bounty, what dirge needs His song? What doubts will I erase with His sure promises? (Psalm 109:31; Isaiah 61:3)

Lord, visit my soul with a fresh crowning of You. Soften and fill me with Your Spirit so my life sings with gladness and joy, to Your high praise and glory.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you… The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you… Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” “ Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life… Abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” John 14:15-17,26; 15:4-5; 16:13; 1 John 2:24-25,28; 2 John 9

Abide: accept or act in accordance with; continue without fading or being lost; remain; persist; stay; hold on; keep to; tarry; prevail. Old English: ‘wait,’ ‘onwards.’

When Jesus by His Spirit abides in us, and we as His children abide in Him, there is an inextricable bond that is powerful for our everyday living. He is our root, our stalk, our source, our lifeline. We drink Him in, cling as branches, and grow. Once so bound, we are neither separated nor the same, and should always be increasing in Christ-likeness. (2 Corinthians 1:22)

Our abiding in Christ and His word begins with His abiding in us. His Holy Spirit regenerates our affections, exposes and convicts us of our sin, and compels us to repent and believe. Indwelling and sealing us at salvation, it is He who teaches us about God, stokes our love for His word, inspires us to grow and to tell others of Him. He apportions our gifts, which we then exercise through His power. His abiding word ignites our passion to obey. (John 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; 4:31; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12; 12:11)

When lashed with an onslaught of the world’s lies and temptations, how tenaciously do I hold on to Jesus? Do I tarry in His word until He has spoken, enlightened, and helped? What fruit in relationships, changed speech or habits, attitudes toward responsibilities, has His indwelling presence borne? (Genesis 17:22)

Lord, keep me abiding in You, holding fast to Your word, and delighting in the fellowship of Your Spirit, that my fruit-bearing display and give taste of Your glory. (2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 5:22-23)

“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’  But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.” Deuteronomy 3:23-29

Mighty Moses was finishing the third forty-year season of life, having walked long and humbly with God. He had experienced His Lord’s providential care through his early years and education, His personal call to lead God’s people out of Egypt, and witnessed unexplained, magnificent miracles as God delivered Israel and guided them through the wilderness. (Exodus 2:1-10; 3:1-10; 6:6; 13:21-22; 14:19-30; 16:13-15; Numbers 12:3)



But Moses had a defining, and painful, moment that punctuated these years. When the incessant whine of the Israelites got to him, he twisted God’s command to speak by striking instead, and was immediately chastised. For not believing, nor upholding God as holy, he would not enter the promised land. The faithful, face to face friend of God, who had experienced His power and glory, His provision and protection, His awesome ‘otherness’ and personal compassion, was ‘just beginning’ to know His infinite greatness, and  he could not get enough. He wanted more; but this side of heaven, that was not to be. (Exodus 33:11,13,18; Numbers 20:11-12)

When we savor God’s amazing grace and new mercies each day, when we behold His indescribable wonders and delight in the works of His hands, every moment can be as though we have just begun to see his magnificent, mighty hand. The more we taste and see, the more we want; what was a most spectacular taste of divine flavor only whets our appetite for a limitless feast. (Psalm 34:8; Lamentations 3:22-23)

Have you and I begun our lifelong relationship with our Lord? How often do we converse, and what are we learning of Him when we do? In any setback, He invites our honesty and sets our passion aright, and steers us forward. May we never tire of marveling at His wondrous deeds, His vibrant majesty, His measureless love toward His own.

Lord, each new day, may I begin afresh with You. May I take delight in my walk with You as though we have just begun. Keep me craving to know You better, pressing on to love You more. And may the expectant way I live draw others to want to take a first step with You. (Galatians 5:25)