pompous

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 (8:18 a.m.)

Sweetest, Blessed Lord,

I have been behaving badly. Selfish. Insecure. Bitter. Resentful. Pompous. Ouch! Isn’t that the very word I’ve been using this past week in fueling my annoyance of a loved one? Haven’t I gone so far in walling myself off from another’s behavior that I have become anything but loving myself?

Dearest, Blessed Father, forgive me for I have sinned! I have both thought and spoken disparaging things about this other because of my own hurt feelings. I have avoided coming to You because of this completely irrational sense of entitlement to these negative feelings and behaviors.

In berating myself for such negativity, I have only succeeded in once again giving the devil that foothold that Paul so accurately warned the Ephesians (4:27) against. The more I’ve tried to will myself to behave better, the more bitter and angry I’ve become. Forgive me Lord. I truly do know better!

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your obedient people of ages past. They came before, willing to write Your truths for the rest of us to hold in our hands, encouraging us to follow Your will and Your way.

Thank You for the relative ease with which I found the words to the tune I began humming just a little bit ago. Michael W. Smith pegged it for the rest of us when he penned ♫Above all powers Above all kings Above all nature And all created things Above all wisdom And all the ways of man You were here Before the world began Above all kingdoms Above all thrones Above all wonders The world has ever known Above all wealth And treasures of the earth There’s no way to measure What You’re worth Crucified Laid behind a stone You lived to die Rejected and alone Like a rose Trampled on the ground You took the fall And thought of me Above all♫

No wonder I couldn’t come before You with such pompous feelings in my heart. I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I knew better, but I couldn’t do better ~ until I confessed to You my own inadequacy. I can’t do any of the things You ask of me without the strength that comes from Your mighty power (Ephesians 6:10). Thank You that You love me enough to forgive me every single time I attempt to branch out on my own and try to do ANYTHING for You by leaning on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:4-8).

Oh Dearest Lord, how I thank You for Your amazing grace in forgiving such a pompous wretch as me! You are wonderful. Holy. Mighty. Powerful. Loving. Perfect. And I’d much rather become more and more like You (2Corinthians 3:18b) than me any day of the week. Thank You for loving me enough to give me that very opportunity. I love You Lord. Amen.

(480 words ~ 9:32 a.m.)