Empty hands held high does not mean I have nothing good to offer. I lift my empty hands because there is nothing that I could give that would produce more love or more acceptance. I am loved as I am, where I am for who I am. I lift my empty hands not because God needs my praise but because He deserves my praise. He deserves it for all he has done, is doing and will do, for who He was, who He is and who He will continue to be. At least that is what I hope my intentions are. Sometimes the reality is that I lift my empty hands because I need His presence. I need Jesus all the time, but it should not be the sole motivating factor of worship. Of course this crazy life can be tough. There are several terrible things that happen in the world that make it such a wretched place sometimes. Then there are days where nothing bad really happened, but for some reason an exhaustion takes over making your heart as heavy as your eye lids.
But this is not my home.
My motivation should be entering His presence. Period. Not entering his presence to be filled or rejuvenated. Not entering His presence to get something from Him. Just merely entering His presence and sitting at His feet because He loves me and I love Him. Then through this sitting and delighting in each other, I will be filled and He will be glorified.
There is nothing wrong with asking God for help, joy, mercy, peace, strength, relief, insight, love, forgiveness, in fact it's expected and encouraged! But my motivating prod to speak to God should not be my agenda, my feelings, my desires. It should be spending time with my Creator who loves and cherishes me. He deserves all of the praise just for being who He is and the incredible sacrifice that was made for me on the cross.
You see, the remedy is hidden in the problem itself. I can go to God with a problem and ask him for a specific answer and I just might receive exactly what I ask for. It's easy for me to see a problem, analyze it, over-analyze it, plan how to overcome it, over-over-analyze it some more, then take it to God with what I think I need. But going to God with these things does not show a trust in His goodness and sovereignty nor does it accept His unconditional, untameable, passionate love for me. If I accept that God loves me unashamedly exactly as I am, then I don't have to take Him my honey-do list. I can so simply and so wonderfully submit my will to His glory and He will provide answers that are far greater than I ever could have asked for myself.
The answer is not found in the scheming and planning, but in the waiting and listening.
God, you know and love my heart for exactly who I am. This is not something I understand, but something that I crave to believe more and more. Increase in me an awareness to your agenda, a listening ear for your voice and continue to fine tune my heart with your Spirit. Use me.
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