I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The LORD preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
(Psalm 116:1-9 ESV)
I was struck by the first line of this psalm today as I read it. I love the Lord because He has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy. Is that why you love the Lord?
I’ve heard a lot of people say they love God because He first loved me, when I was covered with sin and living a life that was far from Him He came in and took a hold of my life and loved me when I did not deserve it.
I do not think I have ever heard someone say that they love the Lord because He listened to them…
But really isn’t that what a relationship is? Isn’t that what true love does?
We think of love as an emotion, as something we feel. We get all cushy inside and we feel all bubbly… That is love, our insides turn and we get butterflies in our stomachs…
But is that really love? Is love an emotion?
Looked on Merriam Webster for the definition and there is a noun and a verb. Love is an action word…
I plated bass the other day for the first time in a while and it was fun and reminded me how much I love playing bass. I like to play bass, I desire to play bass, I take pleasure in playing bass… I love to play bass. Can we say the same thing about God? Do we desire God, do we like to spend time with God, do we take pleasure in God?
The 4th definition of love as a verb is to thrive in…
If we truly love God and follow after Him, our lives will thrive in God. He will feed us and lead us where we need to be.
So why do you love the Lord? Because He first loved you? Because He listens to you? Because your life can thrive in Him?
For all these reasons and more, I love the Lord, and I pray that you will too.
aSacredRebel 