My state would be in the trenches of despair if not for Jesus Christ. He is to me the sweetest of food, the choicest of pleasures. He leads me to still waters when I thirst and cannot be quenched. He restores my soul when it is utterly broken and torn. He MAKES me to lie down. He knows that I am but dust. He uses this wearisome life to slow my heart rhythm back to His. He is the God who sees and cares. He is the God who knows my frailty and chose to love me anyway.

Who is like Him?

No one.

The restoration to peace when we have all but drowned in the waters of life is humbling. The waves start to slow. The furious winds start to fade and there He is. Still there. Always there. He never leaves or forsakes. He never marks us as too far gone, even when we forget and mark ourselves.

He waits.

He waits as our Father, full of love.

In His very essence, He is Love. He cannot ever not be love. And, in His love, He chose. He chose to make the world, knowing humans would sin. He chose to send His Son to save the same world, knowing most would reject Him. And, He still chose me. I cannot even fathom all the love BEFORE me, let alone the fact that He did choose me and chooses me still. He has forever bound my heart to His.

I am thankful that, when I lose sight of what it is to have life in Him, even if it seems in some small area, He lovingly chastens until my heartbeat resembles His own. I am thankful that in the breaking, He is softening and molding all the hard edges. I am thankful that His love is unfathomable. 

He is my best friend. He is the one that I can cling to when the waves feel like they will swallow. He is the One I can talk to day or night. He knows me to the core of my being, and still chooses me.

And, He is so kind that He continues to lavish, even amidst lessons being learned, even in the aftermath of hard things learned. He lavishes love, because He is love.

May I never forget that I am responsible to invest MY HEART in His.

And, the best place for my heart to rest is in the rhythm of His heartbeat.