BEAUTIFUL

Wow….its August! Hot, really really hot, and I've sorta lost that lovin' feelin' for the summer season. Funny, if you'll look back in my blog posts you'll see one titled A WHOLE NEW WARDROBE and it's all about the changing of seasons….how they happen just as God designs. I'm wishing He were as ready as I am for autumn.

So this morning I was in my car – air conditioner blowing HARD - listening to Gateway's latest worship CD on which Kari Jobe sings a song called BEAUTIFUL. I found myself truly challenged by the words. The first verse says:

Here before your alter I am letting go of all I've held
Of every motive, every burden, everything that's of myself
And I just want to wait on you my God
I just want to dwell on who you are

What a declaration….what a decision. So often we come to Him not carrying our sacrifice of praise, but instead carrying all of our life's trials and burdens and needs. And there we stand with all of our stuff, sometimes almost tapping our foot saying, "What are you going to do about all of this God". But therein lies the sacrifice….the laying down of our burdens. Deciding to let go of all that we are holding on to so that we can do the very thing we were created to do… serve HIM...worship HIM…dwell on HIM. The truth is that He understands sacrifice better than anyone, and is far more capable of handling our burdens than us. We come into His presence to give Him praise, to give Him honor, to give Him glory; and when we set our eyes on Him, "the things of this earth grow strangely dim"…and we receive. We receive hope and strength for tomorrow, and a peace that we cannot comprehend. And as He lavishes His love on us, He smiles. This is the God we serve! This is the God we worship! This is the God in whom and on whom we dwell! He is BEAUTIFUL.

The chorus of the song says this:

Beautiful beautiful
Oh I am lost for more to say
Beautiful beautiful
O Lord, you're beautiful to me

My hope and prayer for all of us is that every chance we get to rush to the feet of Jesus, the Holy One, we do – and holding nothing back we WORSHIP OUR GOD!