Inspiration & Worship
A Love Story S
tudents of the Bible know that God lavished David with a remarkable compliment when he described him as “a man after my own heart.” (I Sam. 13:14 & Acts 13:22). They also know it wasn’t because David’s behavior was always pristine. Far from it. God loved David because David loved God passionately. Rather than hiding after he sinned, as Adam and others tried to do, David clung to God’s embrace and begged forgiveness. He had faith in God’s mercy. He didn’t allow his sin to separate him from God. David loved spending time with God. He didn’t praise God out of duty; his wonder at God’s goodness and creation overflowed from his soul. David wanted to please his Creator. He found words inadequate, but tried his best to use them, along with music, dance and art, to express his love for God. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. – Psalm 143:8 (KJV) In this one verse alone, David puts God first in his day, declares his trust in God, asks God to reveal His will and expresses his desire to “lift up his soul” to God. Other translations of the same verse: Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in You. Reveal to me the way I should go because I long for You. (Holman Christian Standard Bible) Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. (New International Version.) What does it mean to ‘lift up our souls’ to God? Is it an emotion of the heart? A decision of the mind? An untethering of the weights which prevent us from leaping into God’s arms like a trusting child? God’s will is clear: He wants to love us and to be loved by us. About 1,000 years after David lived, a man asked Jesus Christ to name the greatest commandment of God. He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37 & 38) God loves us and asks us to love Him in return. How’s that going for us? ❚ – Janine Pumilia 12
Smart Living Live
Feb 2022 • No. I To advertise call 815-316-2300
