Modern Psalms: Teach me in Your Imperishable Love

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (1 Peter 1: 22-25, ESV)

Dear God,

Thank you for being everything I’ve ever needed. Thank you for being my friend when I am lonely, my heavenly father when I need guidance and direction, the lover of my soul when I need to be held and seen, my shield when I need to be protected, and my defender in times of fear and uncertainty. You have never let me down or given me a reason to not trust you. 

There have been days where I’ve been furious with you, unsure of the paths you were leading me down, or weak in my faith, but you have never turned your back on me. You have always been there, even before I knew you. Your goodness and mercy have been evident all along the way, and I worship you for including me in your grace. 

From a child, you called me your own. As I grew up, you drew me close to you and revealed yourself to me in precious ways. In my adulthood, you invited me to put aside my preconceived notions of you and see you more clearly, without the imperfections of what I tried to make you into. Now, you have made me a mother, and daily take me by the hand, gently showing me how to raise my daughter in the ways she should go. 

I will obey you, and the more my faith is refined, the better I am at following you without reservations. You have purified me and sanctified me in your mercy, helping me to trust you and submit to what your will is for me. There are hard days. There are days where I still question, but you remind me of your endless goodness to me, your steadfast love that deeply pursued me and I am encouraged to continue down your paths. 

Help me to better love your people. Help me to not be frustrated or embittered by them. Show me how to better shine your light to those around me. Show me where I can better love the people you’ve placed in my life, not just under my roof, but in my workplace, my church, and my community. Grow me in the sincerity of my heart. Help me to not write others off so quickly for their lack of understanding or stubbornness. 

Give me a pure heart. Help me to see your love for me more clearly so I can better love others. Your love has meticulously planned a way for me to be pulled out of my sin. Your love has passionately come after me through centuries and generations. Your love is perfect and whole and all-encompassing. It is something I struggle to fathom, and yet you still give it. Your love has given me a new life, it has brought me out of the sin that spelled out my death. Your love healed me and changed me.

Help me to love others that way. Help me to love them because you love them. Heal my gossiping tongue. Convict me of my harsh words. Make me into a woman that stewards you rightly and functions as your vessel to bring others to you, not to push others away or give them the wrong idea about being called yours.

Because at the end of my life, most of these things I have will wither and fall like the grass. My bank account, the beauty of my home, the discipline of my body, and the work of my own hands will amount to nothing compared to your eternal glory. The joys and glories of my life are fleeting. Like a flower, they are here and gone, only in bloom for one moment. 

Compared to you and your glory, I am a blip, a mite, a particle.

You are forever, Lord. You are eternal and never fall out of your prime. Your word is evermore, and your kingdom will never be conquered. So help me to live a life in service to your splendor. Let my life, which is perishable, be devoted to you– the imperishable God. If my life means anything, let it be useful to you however you need.

So if you need me to love my brothers and sisters in Christ, then help me to do that better. If you need me to love those that are broken and searching, then help me to patiently love them and to gently turn them towards you. Make me into what you need me to be and strengthen my faith to grow in you obediently. 

Thank you for choosing me, Lord. Thank you for taking that small, invisible, imperishable piece of my soul and calling it yours. You have plucked me from a certain death and given me new life. You are worthy of all I have to give. Show me how to be a better friend, wife, mother, daughter, and woman of God.

I love you. Speak soon,

Cortney