You Are Moving As We Praiseنموونە

First Love 

Devotion and Song Written by Jez Fowler

A few years ago, I was lying on my bed, face up to the ceiling, waiting on the Lord. His presence gently increased, and I sensed His kindness around me as I lay still and focused my heart’s affection towards Him. Then I heard a question resound in my spirit that changed my life forever. 

“Will you let Me love you?” He said. 

I was quite shocked, quickly recounting in my mind how I had known God since I was around 12 years old...and now after 18 years of walking together in life, God was asking, “Will you let Me love you?”! 

I then realized that Jesus was inviting me into a deeper intimacy (I like to think of it as Into-me-see) with Him. A place where I would lay down my walls of self-protection and self-preservation that had been built over the years through heartache and disappointment. He was inviting me into a brave and deep vulnerability with Himself - the One who is Life. When I laid down those defenses, I found His perfect love washing over me like a river. I found the One thing that my being had always desired and was created for - intimate fellowship with God himself. 

For God to be my first love, I first need to open myself up to let Him love me really, really well. As I taste and see of His goodness through encountering the wonderful person of the Holy Spirit, my natural response is to adore Him and forsake all other lovers that long to sit on the throne of my heart. 

The song ‘First Love’ was birthed from a moment of sitting at my childhood piano and adoring Him as a response to His love. ‘Down, down to the river we go’ speaks of allowing Jesus to take my hand and lead me to the river of His loving kindness. This river is also a baptism into full surrender, where I become fully His and His alone. In this place of intimacy with Him, we find that we lack nothing. We find there are overwhelming and limitless riches in Him that we are invited into for our enjoyment and bliss. We find everything we could ever want and more. It’s Him. The Alpha and Omega, Healer, Restorer, Powerful Savior, Best Friend, Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God. He is my First Love. 

We hope this plan - You Are Moving As We Praise - has been an encouragement to you.  To learn More about E58 Worship and hear the rest of the Make Way album, please see https://www.e58worship.org/.

To experience the live videos filmed at the worship service where the Make Way album was recorded, please check out the E58 Worship YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/Expression58Media