Today is…

an awesome day to say “I love You, Lord!”

“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”  Psalm 18:1 NASB

And, unlike yesterday, then there were the times when David got it perfect from the beginning.

The entirety of Psalm 18 is a beautiful display of David’s gratitude to God for victory over his enemies. We can all learn an important lesson in how our relationship with God should be from that beautiful opening in Psalm 18, where David proclaims, “I love You, Lord; You are my strength.” (Psalm 18:1 NLT).

Perhaps each of us should remember that line and use it every time we speak to the Lord. Some of us may already do that, but it is likely that many of us fall short when it comes to actually telling God that we love Him. Some would even have to admit to feeling a little awkward verbalizing our love for God. We all know that many among us have difficulty expressing feelings to spouses and children, so how can we expect those individuals to say out loud, “I love You, God.”

If this presents a problem, then this is something that God can help to overcome. While it may seem unusual to use prayer to ask God to help us learn to tell Him that we love Him, if this is a problem for us then it is exactly the sort of thing that prayer is to be used for. God knows that by helping us express our love to Him, He can help us unlock the ability within that will help us express our feelings and show our love to others. The fact that He can help us learn to express our love should come as no surprise. After all, He can help us face our enemies, even when the ‘enemy’ is fear that resides within us.

If this is the perfect way to begin a conversation with God, why didn’t David use it all the time?

There is no way to understand it other than to point to the fact that David was, after all, just like us: Human. Unlike God, who is always consistent, human beings often have difficulty. We are tossed about by our daily lives. We are also prone to cry out in despair or distress without stopping to consider Who we are crying to and how we really want to address Him.

The only thing we can do is practice. All we can do is try to remember that every time we speak to God, try to begin with four words. “I love You, Lord.”

Even with practice, we will never really be perfect. But expressing our love for God on a daily basis could have a profound impact on our daily lives.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson