Sunday February 16, 2020
Valentines Day was the day before yesterday and I was thinking about love. Not the in-the-moment kind, but the forever kind. The kind that lasts longer than the stuff we buy and or the words we speak. The kind that works hard to keep going, that lives commitment not feelings. That keeps saying I do, and I will and I will always love you.
I was reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a and the words just washed over me. Jesus. The only perfect source of love. The one who teaches us how to love in a fallen world full of hatred and sin, a world of strife and striving.
So I prayed. Can I share it with you? That’s all it is today, my prayer.
First read the verses with me
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
patience
Lord, help me remember Patience when someone else is being slow. They are dealing with things I don’t know about. Help me to slow down, take my hand off the horn, close my lips so words hastily spoken can’t come out of my mouth and harm. Remind me that your work is done in setting aside my own agenda and embracing yours.
Always patience.
kind
Lord help me to remember Kind every time the world screams nasty. Kindness floods with hope, unkind with despair. Help kindness to bubble out of my heart, hands, mouth. And even more so when someone is being unkind to me. Remind me that your work is accomplished through a soft touch and a willing heart to see someone else’s trouble and ease it if I can.
Always kind.
envy
Lord, help me to remember Envy is a destroyer. It kills relationships. Help me to stay in my lane and not try to out-do anyone. Help me to focus on you, the God of daily bread, the God of renewal and refreshing. You are the Lord of filled cups, running over cups and forever filled cups. Remind me that if I am envious it stops me from being happy for those who are happy and stirs competition based on who has more. Help me find contentment in you.
Never envy’s.
boasting
Lord help me to remember Boasting cuts you out of the equation. It’s pride in it’s ugliest form. Help me to always remember you are my provider and that outside of your hand, I am nothing and have nothing. Outside of your grace I am lost and utterly without hope. Remind me that boasting pushes people away and your work is accomplished in letting others get close.
Never boasts.
pride
Lord help me to remember Pride is the first step away from intimacy with you. Pride stained the original relationship between you and your creation. It kills, destroys, maims. Help me to keep my eyes locked onto you- your beauty, your strength, your provision so that it consumes me, leaving nothing of myself worth hanging onto. Remind me that humility is the way to your heart and your work is accomplished when I let go of my selfish ways and ignorant thoughts in order to embrace your truth.
Never is proud.
rude
Lord help me to remember Rude is hurtful. It casts a belittling shadow over those I am rude to. It’s an attempt to elevate myself over someone else and clearly communicate that fact. It’s pushy and loud and calls out for everyone to look the spectacle. Really all it does is expose my weakness. Help me to remember you Jesus, who had every reason to put me in my place but instead were gentle and kind, lifting me up and restoring me rather than tearing me down. Remind me that your work is accomplished in a life that calls no attention to itself, instead calls attention to its Creator.
Never is rude.
self-seeking
Lord help me remember Self-Seeking is so very lonely. It sequesters me away from deep, intimate relationships and forces me to live solely for myself. Help me to open my eyes to the potential in others and willfully set aside my own agenda so that my days are spent encouraging the embattled and helping them see their value and worth. Remind me that your work is accomplished when I trust that you will meet all my needs and I don’t have to worry about tomorrow.
Never self-seeking.
list of wrongs
Lord help me to put away my List Of Wrongs. It is a bitter pill. Help me to forgive and move on from the self-serving desire to hold things against others but hope they aren’t doing the same for me. Help me pour the oil of forgiveness over the head of my enemies. Remind me that your work is accomplished in the act of forgiveness; forgiving myself, forgiving others because you forgave me.
Never keeps a list of wrongs.
delight in evil
Lord help me not to Delight In Evil. When I take my eyes off you I forget that your principals are so different than the world’s. Help me to hide your word in my heart so that when I am tempted to delight myself in the things the world calls good, my conscience will mourn. Remind me that your work is accomplished when I bask in the ocean of your truth and your truth is nourishment to my soul.
Never delights in evil.
Lord
teach me the lessons in life that will draw me closer to you. Help me to feel your protection when I am threatened, help me to feel your presence when I am betrayed. Fill me hope when all is lost, fill me with determination to press on when I want to quit. I trust you, you will never fail me.
Never fails.
Amen.