Be the Centre

Dear Friends,

Jesus, be the centre, be my source, be my light, Jesus.
Jesus, be the centre, be my hope, be my song, Jesus.
Jesus, be my vision, be my path, be my guide, Jesus.
Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails, be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus.

Like me, you probably have sung this song a hundred times. You might even find your mind wandering to your to-do list, just because it is so familiar.

Last Friday, during the Women’s Worship and Prayer Event, something miraculous happened. We were in an attitude of confession when our worship leader – thanks Tammy for being so in-tune with which songs the Holy Spirit wants to move us through – began this song, Jesus Be the Center. The immediate thought that the Holy Spirit blasted my mind with was: “What are you making the center of your life instead of Jesus? Is it insecurity, bitterness, or hopelessness? Try singing this song with those being the center.” So I did.

Bitterness, be the centre, be my source, be my light, Bitterness.
Bitterness, be the centre, be my hope, be my song, Bitterness.
Bitterness, be my vision, be my path, be my guide, Bitterness.
Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails, be the reason that I live, Bitterness, Bitterness.

Insecurity, be the centre, be my source, be my light, Insecurity.
Insecurity, be the centre, be my hope, be my song, Insecurity.
Insecurity, be my vision, be my path, be my guide, Insecurity.
Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails, be the reason that I live, Insecurity, Insecurity.

While we were singing the song and I was inserting the things I had made the center of my life, I had an overwhelming urge to throw up. It so nauseated me to think that I was setting Jesus to the side and making other things my priority. I call this awareness miraculous because only God can reveal what we are thinking and then change it so we can have peace with God, others, and ourselves. 

With what have you substituted Jesus in your life? Perhaps for you it’s money or sex or power or a happy life. Try singing the song with those inserted in the place of Jesus.

_________, be the centre, be my source, be my light, ____________.
_________, be the centre, be my hope, be my song, _____________.
_________, be my vision, be my path, be my guide, _____________.
Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails, be the reason that I live, _______, ________.

Lord God, our great Rescuer and Redeemer,
Only you can save us from ourselves, our selfish desires, our corrupt way of thinking. Only you can make sin so distasteful to us that we avoid it at all costs.
Only you can transform us into new people by changing the way we think (Rom. 12:2).
Only you are worthy of being our center, our source, our light, our hope, our song, our vision, our path, our guide.
Only you are worthy of being the fire in our hearts, the wind in our sails and the reason we live.
Only you Jesus. Only you. Only you.

Blessing from Bev