Ardent Devotion

Morning light has broken the dark hold of night. I move from my darkened room toward the eastern corner of my home. Warm light filters in through the windows and instinctively I draw near. I am here again and so is He. His letter to me sits on the small table beside the soft chair. I faintly hear the birds gratefully accepting their morning meal from the feeder hanging just outside and in the stillness of the rooms I am reminded of a sovereign God’s watchful eye over all His creation. I step into the embrace of my loving Father. I feel His deep love for me and my deep need for Him. I must have this glimpse of glory in the morning hours to prepare me for what I will face in the course of the day. My eye meets His as I look into His Word and I hear His voice through the text on the page; and it feels like home.

True love doesn’t end with feeling but with action. How do I express love and gratitude to the object of my affection? A love like I’ve never known was birthed in me when, upon hearing the Gospel message, the realization of my great sins and His great sacrifice tore through my soul. Profound guilt ravaged my conscience but with the acceptance of His profound love for me was burned up and swept away by desperate gratefulness and enormous relief. He saved my soul from the precipice of the burning depths of eternity. Such love can only be expressed in ardent devotion. Knowing that true love must be expressed in action, what would this ardent devotion to Jesus look like in my daily life?

To begin with, I would give Him the first moments of my day in praise, prayer, and study. Adoration of His name would be the melody line of my song of praise. I wouldn’t miss a chance to sit quietly before the King of Kings, to hear from Him and to break open the bread of life and sup with Him, gaining nourishment for my soul. What an appointment to keep! What an opportunity to enter the holy of holies and minister unto Him while, at the same time, being ministered unto! As Moses’ face reflected the glory of God from his time spent with Him, so should mine glow not only from the flame of the Holy Spirit within, but also from my morning time spent dwelling in the brightness of the glory of His presence.

Secondly, I would realize that God has placed me in a specific station or place of service. In my life, wife and mother is a calling from Him, therefore I must seek to fulfill those duties as unto Him. Practically speaking I would diligently keep house and care for all those who live here and for all who would pass over this threshold.

I would see it as my duty to pray for them, to plan for them and to prepare for ways to bless them. I would seek to press on in this ministry that He has selected for me knowing it is my duty to enthusiastically encourage other believers to keep on trusting Him and to grow their faith in Him and to be a shining light that points to Christ for all those who have yet to come to know Him, beginning first with those in my own home.

Lastly, ardent devotion would cause my thoughts to circle back around to Christ continually throughout my day. To help my mind in this I would fill it with thoughts of Him through Scripture and song so that my lips naturally speak of Him and His work of grace in my life. Ardent devotion would cause me to understand that all of life should be lived as before Him; every moment of everyday living in constant communion with Him. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: for he trusteth in Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3) A calm, content stillness will possess my being as all thoughts are passed first through the truths of God’s word.

Psalm 29:2 calls us to “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” The beauty of holiness spoken here is the adornment of apartness and sacredness. A still and sacred holy place should be carved out within me as a dwelling place for Him who filleth the earth with His blessings and made the stars also. Have I been so foolish to forget that He is nearer to me than breathing? Know I not that God moves with purpose and in love and that He has chosen me a vessel fit for the Master’s use? I will stand in awe and seek to live with the touch of God in my fingertips and the love of God in my eyes. Holiness gives me a special kind of beauty that is well pleasing to my gracious heavenly Father.