Rejoicing in Your Glory!

Almighty God, how many are Your wondrous thoughts towards me. They are too vast to even count! They are precious to me, Lord, and I love to treasure them up in my heart as more costly than gold, silver, and beautiful gems.

Yet what am I that You would even consider me? All the things that I do that seem so good to me are as filthy rags in your sight because I do them for my glory and not Your's, O Lord. I am like a sheep that has gone astray, and I have turned to my own way. Yet because of Your great love and tender mercy---and for the sake of Your great name, O Lord, You take notice of Your lowly, humble servant, and You pour upon me amazing benefits that I do not deserve. I bless You, Lord, for You have forgiven me all my sins! I bless You for You have redeemed my life from the pit! I bless You, my Savior, for You crown my life with steadfast love and mercy! 

O Lord, You are intimately acquainted with all my ways, and You truly care about every detail of my life for You have written all my days in Your book so that not one of them comes into being apart from the power of Your Word breathing them into existence. You also have put all my tears in Your bottle, Lord, and You care about the sorrows in my heart. It is true that I may pass through deep waters and walk through fiery trials, but You, Lord, are with me. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Your presence is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? For You, Lord, are the stronghold of my life and I will not be afraid. 

Enemies may march against me, temptation may pummel me, fear may overwhelm me, my sin may war within me, and the forces of evil and darkness may rise up against my faith; but I will not fear, for greater are You, O Lord, than these enemies who stand in my way and You are in me! The battle is not mine but Your's and You have already defeated my enemy and conquered my curse. Lord Jesus, You bore my cross, endured my shame, drank my cup of punishment for my sin, tasted the bitterness of death in my place, and RISEN FROM THE DEAD my victorious Lord and Savior.

Lord Jesus, Your Father has exalted You to the highest place and given You the name that is above all names because You lowered Yourself to the lowest place and became a servant who obediently faced death, even death on a cross!

You learned obedience through what You suffered, and made Your obedience my own at the cross when You took all my disobedience and gave me the brilliant beauty of Your obedient life!

And now I want to know You, Jesus! I want to share in the fellowship of Your suffering. I want to learn obedience through all my sufferings so that in every moment and situation and circumstance of my life, I would reverantly seek to do my Heavenly Father's will and not my own. I want to take up my cross and join You, Jesus, outside the camp, bearing the same reproach You bore. I want to take from Your hand joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, Rose's and thorns, peace and storms, sunshine and rain, bright days and dark nights---all with Thanksgiving because You know best and You will do all for Your glory, and Your glory is my good. For I am learning to be content in every situation, whether I am walking through deserts, dancing on mountain peaks, crawling through valleys or being carried in Your arms over stormy seas. I am able to rejoice in You, Lord, because You never change! My joy is not in the shifting sands of this life or the ever changing tides of time, but in the matchless worth of Christ! Jesus, You are my joy, and so I can always rejoice for no matter what I go through or what discouragement I may face You remain the same: yesterday, today, and forever!

And Lord, if You will only glorify Yourself in and through my life then the darkest night shall be radiant with Your beauty, the deepest valley a path into the deepness of Your unfailing love, the hardest sorrow shall water the seeds of Your promises planted in the broken soil of my soul, and Your promises will BLOOM in the deserts of my heart by Your grace! For Your Word does not return to You void but accomplishes Your purposes for Your glory!

Lord Jesus, You also do not leave me to face the heartache and hardships of life alone. For Your arms wrap me in Your love, Your feet brings the sweetness of Your peace to my storm tossed soul, Your lips whisper tender words of mercy and compassion to my sinful heart, Your hands bind up the broken pieces of my life, and Your Body---the church---pours out upon me Your new morning mercies, Your late night compassion, and Your all-sufficient grace so that I can see the depths of Your love for me.

Everything in my life is a gift of grace from You, Lord. The joys, sorrows, pleasures and pain all come into my life through nail-pierced hands---for I am always held by Your grace and hidden in Your wounds, and nothing can ever snatch me out of Your hands. All these gifts of grace and bittersweet mercies are given through Your hands so that I might know You, Lord, in every tiny moment of my life as You pour Your love upon me through Your beautifully redeemed Bride! 

All of this is Your grace to me so that You may be glorified and I may rejoice in Your glory!

And as I experience the sweetness of Your love through Your Bride, I also have the joy of showing Your love to Your other servants. Our love for one another shall grow more and more as we pour ourselves out and are filled up with You, Lord, and as we continue to pour Your endless love into each others lives the world around us will know that we belong to You and that You loved us first!

And, Lord, may this good news of Your love spread around the world and into all the dark places so that Your name would be glorified and lifted high. Accomplish Your Word, O Lord, by letting the whole earth be filled with the knowledge of Your glory even as the waters cover the seas!