I wish I would live with you in view--
eyes to your glory,
ears for your wisdom,
heart for your grace.
But I live with me in view--
eyes to my kingdom,
ears for my opinion,
heart captured by my will.
I know that I was made for you.
I know that hope,
meaning,
purpose,
identity, and
my agenda for every day
is to be found in you.
But I want my own kingdom.
I love my own glory.
I define my own meaning.
I delight in my control.
There’s a war that never ends;
the battleground is my heart.
It's a moral skirmish
between what you have ordained
and what I want.
So I don't delight in your law.
But my heart doesn’t rest.
I know there's a better way.
I know that you are God,
and I am not.
My sin is more than
bad behavior,
bad choices,
or wrong words.
My sin is an act
where i replace you
with something I love more.
Every wrong thing i do
reflects
a lack of love for you, and
reflects
a love of self.
Help me
to see,
to acknowledge,
to weep,
and say,
“Against you, you only,
have I sinned
and done what is evil in
your sight.”
And then, help me to rest
in your mercy,
in your great compassion, and
in your unfailing love
even as the war goes on.
________________________________________

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)

Contemplate how “sin is an act where I replace you.” How does this defintion expand you understanding of sin?

How have you recently been living with yourself “in view” instead of living with God “in view”? Spend some time in prayer, confessing to God and resting in his unfailing love.

For further study and encouragement, read Psalm 51.