The Breath of LentSample

Begin by focusing on the phrase, “Your love is better than life.” This declaration follows an experience of God’s power and glory. The writer states, “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” The immediate response to seeing the power and glory of God is to declare that His love is better than life. Not just better than our best day, not simply better than the most beautiful scenery, better than life - all that life contains, the ups, the downs, the victories… His love, the Psalmist declares, is better than all of those things, better than life itself. Have you experienced the power and glory of the presence of God recently?

Do you notice that the experience of seeing the Lord in the sanctuary is in the past tense? The Psalm starts by declaring that “you are my God” and stating, "I will seek you.” The picture painted is dry, hopeless, a place with no water, a parched land - indicating it has been a while since the water was there. Is this the season you find yourself in today? Do you need a fresh experience with the Lord to reignite the truth of the declaration “Your love is better than life”?

As you spend a few moments with this week’s breath prayer, perhaps take the position of the Psalmist, remembering the moments that you have experienced the presence of the Lord in power and glory, which may lead you to declare that His love is better than life.

Inhale: Better is one day in your courts

Exhale: than a thousand elsewhere