Occasionally, I get to write for magazines, newsletters, blogs, and everything in between. It’s neat to go back and read my words from another time. There’s always room for grace and growth and a smile or head nod. It was an honor to be asked to try something new for a recent women’s gathering in my city. I said yes, thinking I’d read something from Every Moment Holy (highly recommend, by the way). But my husband encouraged me to write my own, and the leadership team blessed me to do so. Below is the liturgy I delivered for our May event. See you in August?
Sometimes, it’s hard to sing of the goodness of God. There’s a lot going out there. And in here. Sometimes, our breath feels better spent elsewhere. Sometimes, it’s hard to sing of the goodness of God.
And still… God remains good. He cannot be anything else.
God is faithful in that He is good. And His goodness comes after us….
For no reason at all, other than the Savior of the world takes great delight in us.
And so, we sing. Not for His sake. The Creator does not need reminding of what He’s created.
No. We sing to remember. We sing to fight. We sing to rally our hearts to the sounds of His promises… That He will never leave us. That He will never forsake us. That whether we turn to the right or to the left, we will hear a voice behind us saying, This is the way. Walk in it.
For the woman out there there searching for a water that will never leave her thirsty again, here is Who I know.
I know a God who named the stars and numbered the hairs on my head. I know a Jesus who who died on a cross and walked out of a grave with my name on his lips. I know a Holy Spirit who allows me to feel the full weight of my sin, so that I may experience the full measure of His grace.
For the woman out there searching for a water that will never leave her thirsty again, here is Who I worship.
I worship a God who loved me enough to rescue me… not just from hell, but from my myself. I worship a Jesus who exchanged death for life on my behalf, so that my yoke is now easy and my burden light. I worship a Holy Spirit who whispers sweet somethings in my ear when things get dark, and I feel alone and afraid.
For the woman out there searching for a water that will never leave her thirsty again, here is Who I serve.
I serve a God who gave me a new name, a forever family, and an incredible inheritance. I serve a Jesus who set me free to treat every person I meet as if they bear the image of His dad. I serve a Holy Spirit who directs my steps so that each breath, the magical and the mundane, becomes worship.
To the woman who thirsts, you’re invited. So come. Come and see the man who told me everything I ever did and loved me anyway. Follow me, as I follow Him tonight.
Together, may we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Together, may we make Him our best thought; His presence, our light. Together, may we remember that the work is the Holy Spirit’s. It has always been His. Together, may we rest in the Father’s lap and remind ourselves that to worry is to rebel against our new nature as daughters of the King. And the King’s kids don’t worry.
On behalf of this broken and busted and still beloved world, the Spirit and the Bride say come. Let the woman who hears say come. Let the woman who is thirsty come. Let her take the free gift of the water of life.