Lifetime Daily DevotionsSample

Living for an Audience of One

Come, everyone, and clap for joy!
Shout trimphant praises to the Lord!
Psalm 47:1 (TLB)

"Good morning, Jesus."

"Good morning to you dear Anabel. I look forward to being with you."

"Thank You, and I always anticipate being with You. As Jeremiah said, 'Your lovingkindness and faithfulness begin afresh every day.' (Lamentations 3:23) Do You have anything special You want to share with me today?"

"Yes, I do. Come over here and sit with me and let's talk about it. (Isaiah 1:18a) I know that you are very aware of My help. You are constantly saying 'Thank You, Lord' for the smallest act of kindness or encouragement and You are trying to allow Me to meet each day for you. I know that's hard for you because of your years of performing for acceptance, but that's very important in our relationship. I believe you have come to understand how much I love you and My deep concern for everything in your life. I will never allow you to face hurt, pain, or sadness alone. I will always be here to help you, dear child. I know you realize these things, but I wanted to thank you for believing Me and living in My presence constantly. You are special to me."

And my day with the Lord begins.

I used to sing while I worked, and I'm sure the Lord appreciated my efforts, though I know the tunes were generally off-key. (It's hard to believe that I used to sing the low alto part in our trio specials at church.) Then, when I became aware of my growing lack of talent in that area, I switched to whistling. My neighbor, Harold, remarked to me one day as we were both working in our respective yards, that he enjoyed hearing me whistle. (That made my day.) Then, I lost my whistling expertise somewhere along the way, so now it's all "undercover." Meaning? I still sing and whistle most of the day but you would never hear either of them. I'm singing just to Him and it is solely for the Lord and me to enjoy. I'm setting my mind on Him, worshipping through the words of the songs, and loving His compliments and His companionship. He loves to hear me sing. Amazing!

Psalm 63:7 says, "For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy."

Ken Medema, a blind concert pianist, was visiting in our little country church. We were not stilted in our worship, but were cautious about being "too" charismatic. Ken was on the platform and as we sang he really got "with it!" He was swinging his arms, clapping, dancing and having loads of fun. When the song was over he made this insightful statement: "You can really be free in your worship when no one can see you!"

Well, I'm hiding in the shadow of His wings, so I can be as demonstrative as I want to be. Nice! No one can see me! I love the way the Jewish people dance as they sing. What fun they have! One of these days ǃ_one of these days. How we will praise the Lord together, you and I. I'm anticipating doing that with you.

But for now, it's just the two of us--Jesus and me, that is--all day long. I rarely break into a special aria; those are reserved for sitting out in the swing by myself at night or being alone in the front yard. So goes my day. Mistakes? Oh, yes. Taking the occasional roller coaster ride? Yes. But love flows freely from Jesus to me. And back. Thank You, precious Savior.