Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Psalm 63:3NAS
There’s a version of Peter Pan in which Tinkerbell’s terrible actions toward Wendy are explained…and yes, this actually does relate to the above verse! Anyway, in the movie Tink’s dark turn is explained by the narrator telling the audience that Tinkerbell didn’t really mean to be so awful, it’s just that fairies are so small they can only hold one emotion at a time–so the good emotions are all encompassing when they have good thoughts and the bad emotions are all encompassing when they have bad ones.While we are certainly more complex than a make-believe character in a children’s story….sometimes, I think we can relate!
As a follower of Christ, I want to be wholly focused on my Lord. I want His love, grace, sacrifice, and holiness to always be the most significant calling on my heart. But life that collides into my best wishes. One moment I face the day with faith and praise, the next I battle my doubts and distractions. Sometimes, the smallness of my human capacity experiences just one thing at a time, and it isn’t always the best thing. The simple, fleeting pressure of being late can be so big that everything else kind of fades. Blood sugar irregularities can quite literally blur my vision. And impatience usually sits waiting for me at some point in the day. I want my heart to be totally enveloped in God’s love, but it’s still a growing process for me.
This verse reminds me that no matter how many dishes sit in the sink, God’s love is the best place for my focus. No matter how big the need, there is praise that needs to be spilled from my lips even more than the requests. And that no matter how many things fill my to-do list, the best place I can spend my energy and focus is on Christ.
Whether it’s a list of felt needs or distractions that pull at your view, this verse calls our focus to the best place we can fix our sights. When the needs pull at my mind, this verse reminds me of the truth that there is no facet of life, however sweet, or however needy, that compares to the fullness in Christ. It beckons me to put away that sense of urgency and to banish the distractions; to allow my soul to be wrapped in the delight of God. And to simply praise Him. Because His love is better than life!
During a season of struggle and loneliness, a young single woman from our church kept finding a verse cross her path that challenged her and refocused her on God’s presence, above and beyond everything else. It was Psalm 73:28, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good” NAS. Is there a verse that reminds you to purify your focus? Find one, memorize it, tuck into deep in your heart, and most importantly, live it!
May we find ourselves wrapped in praise that takes us beyond the petitions and distractions because God’s love and presence are better than the answer to any of our requests or needs!
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