I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 2 Cor. 11:1-3 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, as this Scripture underscores, whether overtly or covertly, Satan is always seeking to divert or diminish our love for you. And when he’s successful, everything else in our lives gets out of balance and out of whack. We start thinking of ourselves either too highly or too lowly; and certainly, too often. We take criticism too personally and we feed on compliments like chocolate.
When we get distracted from fellowshipping with you, we medicate our pain in unhealthy ways and get busy with things that don’t really matter. Things less worthy of our emotional energy irritate and preoccupy our hearts—like events of the Inauguration weekend. We’re more susceptible to fears and more likely to act out foolishly. None of these bode well. All of these things rob us, and others, of your grace; but worse, they rob you of glory.
So as this day begins, and continues, we reaffirm that our greatest joy in life is being known, loved, and enjoyed by you. We love you, Jesus, because you first loved us and gave yourself for us. No one, and nothing else, is worthy of our heart’s attention, affection, and adoration. Though our love for you waxes and wanes, your love for us is always full bore and full throttle, passionately present and irrepressibly persistent. Thank you!
Continue to rescue us from whisperings and lies, and seductions and condemnations of Satan. May your love for us be the most enthralling, liberating, and compelling force in our lives—until the Day you return and we are made perfect in your love (1 Jn. 3:1-3). May your eternal kingdom, not our national fiefdom, seize our longings. Hallelujah, what a Savior you are. Hallelujah, what a salvation you have won for us. So very Amen we pray, in your great and gracious name.
