Listen

Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me! Please don’t throw me out of your presence; please don’t take your holy spirit away from me. Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:10-12

Think

As the people of God, we are called into relationship with each other and with our God. We want to be known by God, to walk with God. We want God’s radiance to shine upon us.

And yet, aware of our failings, we can often feel unworthy of God’s magnificence. Being apart from God leaves us feeling isolated, aimless.

Through this Psalm, we approach God with a posture of contrition, longing, and worship. We plead with God to accept us, to help us. We promise to do better next time. And we know from Scripture that God is faithful. God will accept and honor our longing time and again, because in that longing is the desire to align our lives with God’s purpose, the desire to become all we are called to be, the desire to obey.

How wonderful it is to crave God’s presence! How wonderful it is to be in relationship with a God who accepts us and loves us and never abandons the potential within us.

Thanks be to God!

Wendy Johnson

Pray

Creator God, I want your radiance to shine upon me. I want your company, your presence in my life. Help me to align my life with your purposes, accept your forgiveness when I fail, and try again and again and again.

For I am your follower and you are my God. Amen.

Go

We belong to each other, and we belong to God.