Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 6:32 a.m. – I woke with this song in mind:
Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken / Henry F. Lyte / Mozart/ Arr. Hubert P. Main
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I've sought, and hoped, and known;
Yet how rich is my condition,
God and Christ are still my own!
Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like man, untrue;
And, while Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends disown me;
Show Thy face, and all is bright.
Man may trouble and distress me,
'Twill but drive me to Thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me,
Christ will bring me sweeter rest.
O 'tis not in grief to harm me,
While Thy love is left to me;
O 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.
Go then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come, disaster, scorn, and pain!
In Thy service pain is pleasure;
With Thy favor loss is gain.
I have called Thee, Abba, Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee;
Storms may howl and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.
Haste then on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer;
God's eternal day's before thee,
God's own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 57:
My Understanding: The Lord wakes me often with this song, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.” The words are so rich and meaningful to my heart. This is part of what it means to follow Jesus:
· Leave it all behind (don’t hold on to the things of this world)
· Accept possible rejection (if they reject Christ, they may also reject you)
· Relinquish your rights, hopes and dreams into God’s capable hands
· Accept life’s trials as opportunities to grow in your faith and relationship with Christ
· Understand how rich you are in Christ and accept what He has designed for you
This Psalm is obviously written during a time of disaster, because the Psalmist asks for God’s mercy as well he commits himself under the shelter of Almighty God, taking refuge in his wings “until the disaster has passed.” I don’t think this implies that he would remove himself from taking refuge in God once the disaster had passed, but rather it is an expression of the importance of finding shelter in God, especially during times of disaster.
The prelude to the Psalm states that it was written by David when he had fled into a cave from Saul, who was out to kill him. We don’t many of us in America currently have people that we know are out to kill us, though this certainly applies to some. Yet, I do believe that time is coming, because the scriptures teach that it is so, when Christians will be pursued, persecuted, beaten and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, even now many throughout the world are going through this kind of persecution. And, many in the USA are persecuted for their faith in Christ. So, I think that all believers in Christ can identify with the Psalmist to some degree, and one day all the saints of God on the earth will know what David experienced and will feel with him in this prayer to the Lord God, his Savior.
In his cry to God, David said he was calling to God who fulfills his purpose in his life. So, even though he was being pursued by the king who wanted to destroy him because he knew, perhaps, that David had been chosen by God to be his replacement, or because he knew he was favored by God and he was jealous of him, or because of his obvious devotion to and obedience to Almighty God which served as a threat to him because he, though once chosen by God, had not obeyed God fully and thus God had removed his blessing from him. We, too, will face people in our lives who are or could be jealous of our relationship with Jesus Christ and who might be out to get us, too.
What is interesting is David’s view of this. He saw this as God fulfilling his purpose in David’s life. Oh, if we would all have that view of difficult circumstances in our lives to where we could see that all things work together for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Verse 7 says, “My heart is steadfast, O God…” Steadfast means “firm and unwavering in purpose, loyalty, or resolve; firmly fixed or constant; unfaltering; resolute; persistent; committed; dedicated; loyal; dependable; faithful; and reliable.” [Encarta Dictionary & Thesaurus]
Wow! How many of us can truly say, according to this definition of "steadfast" that our hearts are truly "steadfast, O God." Of course, this means steadfast in our relationship with God - Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. I pray that I would have a heart that is “steadfast, O God” in all circumstances and situations in my life, even if I, like David, am “in the midst of lions.”
Despite the lions who were hotly pursuing him; in spite of the men whose teeth were spears and arrows, whose tongues were sharp as swords – I think all of us at times have been on the receiving end and perhaps the giving end of a “sharp tongue” – regardless of those who spread a net for his feet and who dug a pit in his path, his heart was steadfast, i.e. firm and unwavering. How many of us could say that?
What was his response to all this? He cried out to God in his distress. He called for God to be exalted. He sang and made music. He resolved in his heart to sing and make music. He resolved to praise the Lord despite his circumstances. He said, “I will sing of you among the peoples.” He was going to be a witness for the Lord even though he was being pursued to be killed. He could do this because of God’s great love and his faithfulness.
We will all face difficult circumstances. We will all have people who won’t like us or who might mistreat us. We won’t all be hunted down and killed for our faith, but many will. We will face an enemy much like David describes. He is called the Antichrist or the Beast or the Dragon. If we are going to win this battle, which is a spiritual battle, we need to be steadfast – firm and unwavering in purpose; firmly fixed or constant; resolute.
Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken / Henry F. Lyte / Mozart/ Arr. Hubert P. Main
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I've sought, and hoped, and known;
Yet how rich is my condition,
God and Christ are still my own!
Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like man, untrue;
And, while Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends disown me;
Show Thy face, and all is bright.
Man may trouble and distress me,
'Twill but drive me to Thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me,
Christ will bring me sweeter rest.
O 'tis not in grief to harm me,
While Thy love is left to me;
O 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.
Go then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come, disaster, scorn, and pain!
In Thy service pain is pleasure;
With Thy favor loss is gain.
I have called Thee, Abba, Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee;
Storms may howl and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.
Haste then on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer;
God's eternal day's before thee,
God's own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 57:
My Understanding: The Lord wakes me often with this song, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.” The words are so rich and meaningful to my heart. This is part of what it means to follow Jesus:
· Leave it all behind (don’t hold on to the things of this world)
· Accept possible rejection (if they reject Christ, they may also reject you)
· Relinquish your rights, hopes and dreams into God’s capable hands
· Accept life’s trials as opportunities to grow in your faith and relationship with Christ
· Understand how rich you are in Christ and accept what He has designed for you
This Psalm is obviously written during a time of disaster, because the Psalmist asks for God’s mercy as well he commits himself under the shelter of Almighty God, taking refuge in his wings “until the disaster has passed.” I don’t think this implies that he would remove himself from taking refuge in God once the disaster had passed, but rather it is an expression of the importance of finding shelter in God, especially during times of disaster.
The prelude to the Psalm states that it was written by David when he had fled into a cave from Saul, who was out to kill him. We don’t many of us in America currently have people that we know are out to kill us, though this certainly applies to some. Yet, I do believe that time is coming, because the scriptures teach that it is so, when Christians will be pursued, persecuted, beaten and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, even now many throughout the world are going through this kind of persecution. And, many in the USA are persecuted for their faith in Christ. So, I think that all believers in Christ can identify with the Psalmist to some degree, and one day all the saints of God on the earth will know what David experienced and will feel with him in this prayer to the Lord God, his Savior.
In his cry to God, David said he was calling to God who fulfills his purpose in his life. So, even though he was being pursued by the king who wanted to destroy him because he knew, perhaps, that David had been chosen by God to be his replacement, or because he knew he was favored by God and he was jealous of him, or because of his obvious devotion to and obedience to Almighty God which served as a threat to him because he, though once chosen by God, had not obeyed God fully and thus God had removed his blessing from him. We, too, will face people in our lives who are or could be jealous of our relationship with Jesus Christ and who might be out to get us, too.
What is interesting is David’s view of this. He saw this as God fulfilling his purpose in David’s life. Oh, if we would all have that view of difficult circumstances in our lives to where we could see that all things work together for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Verse 7 says, “My heart is steadfast, O God…” Steadfast means “firm and unwavering in purpose, loyalty, or resolve; firmly fixed or constant; unfaltering; resolute; persistent; committed; dedicated; loyal; dependable; faithful; and reliable.” [Encarta Dictionary & Thesaurus]
Wow! How many of us can truly say, according to this definition of "steadfast" that our hearts are truly "steadfast, O God." Of course, this means steadfast in our relationship with God - Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. I pray that I would have a heart that is “steadfast, O God” in all circumstances and situations in my life, even if I, like David, am “in the midst of lions.”
Despite the lions who were hotly pursuing him; in spite of the men whose teeth were spears and arrows, whose tongues were sharp as swords – I think all of us at times have been on the receiving end and perhaps the giving end of a “sharp tongue” – regardless of those who spread a net for his feet and who dug a pit in his path, his heart was steadfast, i.e. firm and unwavering. How many of us could say that?
What was his response to all this? He cried out to God in his distress. He called for God to be exalted. He sang and made music. He resolved in his heart to sing and make music. He resolved to praise the Lord despite his circumstances. He said, “I will sing of you among the peoples.” He was going to be a witness for the Lord even though he was being pursued to be killed. He could do this because of God’s great love and his faithfulness.
We will all face difficult circumstances. We will all have people who won’t like us or who might mistreat us. We won’t all be hunted down and killed for our faith, but many will. We will face an enemy much like David describes. He is called the Antichrist or the Beast or the Dragon. If we are going to win this battle, which is a spiritual battle, we need to be steadfast – firm and unwavering in purpose; firmly fixed or constant; resolute.
