Establish me in Your Love.

 Holy Spirit, Establish Me in Your Love

A Reflection on Ephesians 3:17-19, Jude 1:20-21, and Romans 8:39

Holy Spirit, establish me in Your love—not a shallow, fleeting root,

But a deep, unshakable grounding that bears eternal fruit.

Let the love of God be not a concept I rehearse,

But the very soil of my being, the rhythm of my verse.

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (Ephesians 3:17-18)

Establish me—when doubts arise and fears assail my mind,

When I question if I'm worthy, if I'm left behind.

Let Your love be the anchor that holds me through the storm,

The unwavering assurance that I am safe, I am warm.

In Your love, there is no condemnation, no shadow of turning.

It is a fire that keeps on burning, a dawn that keeps on dawning.

Let it chase away the orphan spirit, the slave’s dread.

Let me cry, “Abba, Father,” and know what the Spirit has said.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

Establish me in love—not as a doctrine, but as a place,

A secret dwelling, a warm embrace.

So that when the winds of accusation blow,

I will not be shaken, for I will know

That nothing can separate me from this love I’ve found,

Neither height nor depth, nor any power that would confound.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

So build me up, O Holy Spirit, on this foundation of grace.

Let me rest in the love that will never erase

My failures, my faults, my unworthiness.

Let me be established in the love that makes me blessed.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. (Jude 1:20-21)

Amen.