But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:31
Father God, throughout my life I have sought Your face, seeking what You require of me. You know my heart and know that I have regularly asked You to use me, empowering me by Your Spirit to accomplish Your perfect will in my life. You know my heart’s desire is to glorify You in all I say and do. I have diligently sought to please You. And to that end, in earnest I have asked for a movement of Your Holy Spirit in my life to endow me with the gifts necessary to do this. Yet, this morning I recognize that there are times when there is a disconnect between my ambitions and Your purposes. There are times when I have sought a manifestation of Your gifts in my life and that desire has been driven by personal motives, my request founded more so by what I want to accomplish versus what You want. I confess this before You and ask Your forgiveness. My soul finds comfort this morning in knowing that You have indeed provided a more excellent way, one that does not condemn me for my misplaced zeal but instead restores me and ushers me into Your presence. In that way my failures are overshadowed by Your grace and my shortcomings lifted up by Your compassion. Indeed, through Christ and His example You have opened up my eyes to His way that I might follow in it. Today, I ask that You would help me to remember to undergird all I do or seek to do with love. Help me to continue to be motivated to do what I do because I love and am loved. Enable me to allow my love to permeate all that I say and do, saturating my thoughts and words with the love and compassion of Christ, so that in doing what I do I might look like Jesus and truly reflect Who You are. Help me to follow His most excellent way today that You truly might be glorified. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.