Morning by Morning, April 28 - One Pearl of Great Price
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today. ...
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45 NKJV).
Thank You for all the fine pearls in my life, all that You've provided for me and lavished up me -- forgiveness and mercy, eternal life, healing and deliverance, provision and protection, redemption of all my sins and failures into places of compassion and authority for others, a confident sense of identity and hopeful sense of destiny. But what is worth all I have? What is the one pearl of great price to me?
I think it has to be Your loving presence. Not just Your love, but also Your presence. Not just Your presence, but also Your love.
After all, that's how You created me. You created me to desire You and Your loving presence: Like every baby desperately desires the loving presence of their mother and father. Like every teenager, no matter where they are on their emotional journey to independence, deep down inside, no matter how much they may hate to admit it at times, longs for the loving presence of their parents. Like every man and woman, no matter what they've been through or how rocky their relationship may have been, misses the loving presence of the ones who gave them life when they pass on or are no longer around. All of these are measures and expressions of our deepest desire for intimate relationship with You, for the loving presence of God.
David discovered this pearl of great price when he cried out, "One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple... 'Come,' my heart says, 'seek His face!' Your face, Lord, do I seek" (Psalm 27:4-8). With words and songs, he tried to express this insatiable need: "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? ... Deep calls to deep" (Psalm 42:2-7). And You responded to this deep longing of all who believe in You and recognized our God-created need for You and loving presence in our lives when You said, "I Am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).
Lord, let seeking Your face be my passion. Let knowing You and loving You and experiencing Your love for me in the depths of my heart every moment of my life be my deepest desire. Let Your loving presence be worth selling all I have and being at the heart of all I am. Let Your loving presence be my pearl of great price. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
May you know what is the one pearl of great price in your life; and may you give all you have and all you are to have it, that you may live forever in the loving presence of our God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Please share this word to encourage a friend!
