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The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Psalm 21:1

I am no earthly “king” — in fact, today, I feel like pauper — but Your offer is the same for me.

Joy in Your strength. Joy in Your strength. These words speak to my void. I am weak, tired, weary, dampened by life’s demands that feel too big for me.

I come empty.

But You say there are no rules for entry. No requirements to receive. In fact, because my weakness has moved from subterranean to obvious-in-my-eyes, my ask is big. And Your response is bigger. I get to have Your joy. I can turn in my cloak at the door and leave wrapped in strength.

I praise You, oh God, who spins my day around once my heart has been touched by You. I worship You, Author of strength. You make me alive on the inside.

When the little annoyances of life and motherhood seek, oh-so-subtly, to steal one of my most prized possessions — my joy — You stare into my weakness and say come. Come find the real source of strength. When I bury my downtrodden self in all that is Holy Strength, I can’t help but leave joyful.

There is a way out. You, Oh God, are the way out. The holy way up and out. When I am nothing, You — You, oh God are everything. And my nothing only means more opportunity for Your everything.

I come with blistered feet, almost unable to walk on this road You have put before me … and I leave dancing. Because You are the one place on earth where the currency is weakness. And in my weakness, You make me rich in joy.

I love You, oh Author of strength. Creator of all that is joy.

 

**So what do I do with these posts, you ask, other than just read them? First, if you haven’t yet, read: Why I Adore to give you a context for this little space on my blog. (This post also gives context.)

If you are compelled, I invite you to participate. Set up a space and time in your own life to begin adoring. Over laundry or dinner dishes, on your commute to work, or in the wee morning hours — ten minutes is a great start. You can use the verse I list here every day or two as a launch pad for your own adoration.

Then practice praise.

Add to my adoration here, by posting a comment with your own words back to God about God …or hide it in your heart.

I promise your weary soul won’t regret it.

***You can easily subscribe to these devotional meditations as they are delivered, by using this feed: http://www.EveryBitterThingisSweet.com/posts/chai/feed or by entering your email address in the second box on the right-hand side… (scroll up a bit)

Additionally, all of the Morning Chai Posts can be seen, in the order of posting, by clicking here or adding this address to your reader: http://EveryBitterThingisSweet.com/posts/chai