Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Ps. 143:8
Lord Jesus, I understand that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What we consume early greatly determines the rhythms of the rest of the day. I know this to be true, especially on the mornings when meager sleep segues into a way-too-busy day, and I choose to break the evening fast with too much caffeine and sugar. An energy crash isn’t too far down the pike.
But on a more profound level, what we put into our minds and hearts as the day begins affects a whole lot more than our energy level and how soon we’ll start fading into a noddle-nap. So out of equal measures of delight and desperation, we make the psalmist’s cry ours: “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love” (Ps. 143:8). That’s what we need more than anything else.
Only your love is better than life, Jesus. Only your love meets the deepest needs of our whole being and satisfies our most intense longings. Only your love is unwavering, for all other loves are filled with conditions and contingencies. Only your love is unfailing, for all other loves are fickle and finite. Only your love is unconditional, for you have met all necessary conditions for God to love us just as much as he loves you.
Only your love can expose and replace our heart-idols. Only your love can sabotage our pettiness, judgmentalism, and ingratitude, setting us free to love others well. Only your love can heal the deepest heart-wounds we carry.
Only your love can move us from navel-gazing introspection to kingdom living joy. Only your love can free us to trust you when we’re in seasons of hard providence, chronic pain, and unexpected transitions.
So this morning, noon and evening—and during snack time too, bring the truth, grace, and power of the gospel to bear upon our hearts. Humble, gladden, and transform us by your love. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.
