At the beginning of this new year, I want this to be the prayer of my heart.
My daughter-in-law Sarah shared this poem with me several years ago, and we often refer to it.
They are hard words. At any cost? By any road? And yet, isn't God Himself - our Father, our Creator, our Savior, the One who loves us beyond comprehension - worth anything that it may cost us?
And so, I pray for the grace to pray these hard words.
MY GOAL IS GOD HIMSELF
by Frances Brook
My goal is God, Himself, not joy, nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself my God,
'Tis His to lead me there —not mine, but His—
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
And love can trust her Lord to lead her there;
Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard
Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.
No matter if the way be sometimes dark.
No matter though the cost be oft-times great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark.
The way that leads to Him must needs be straight.
One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay;
One thing I do, I press towards my Lord;
My God my glory here, from day to day,
And in the glory there my great Reward.
That is a hard prayer, because in our hearts we want ease. We want the smooth road, not the rough one. If we walk with our eyes on Him, His grace will see us through anything.
ReplyDeleteYes, I so want ease . . . peace. And while deep in my heart there is peace, life circumstances aren't always peaceful.
DeleteThis makes me think of a line in an Amy Carmichael poem that I love . . . "From silken self, O Captain, free Thy soldier who would follow Thee." Too often, I am that "silken self."
total surrender .. oh Lord may my ♥ be such.
ReplyDelete{and in total agreement with Deanna's comment above}
Amen. May our hearts be such . . .
Delete"God's grace will help me pray these hard words." Yes, no matter the rough road his love will see me through. I remember you sharing these hard words before, dear Cheryl. ♥
ReplyDeleteYou have a good memory, Martha Ellen, or maybe these words struck a note in your heart too! The beginning of a new year causes me to ponder these deep things. . .
DeleteOh that that prayer will always be on my lips, and may His grace lead me through each and every day. We aren't promised a bed of roses, we are promised that His grace is sufficient for whatever comes our way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post ~ FlowerLady
I love that promise that His grace is sufficient!!
DeleteVery hard. Very challenging. I have this against it: it makes it sound as if it is all up to us. That is wrong. It is all up to Him and we have only to yield to Him. And let us not forget His words that His burden is light and His yoke is easy. Matthew 11:30 And let us never forget to cast all our cares on Him. 1Peter 1:7
ReplyDeleteOh we will see a rough journey from time to time, some rougher than others, but He is with us always.
I appreciate your thoughts on this, Vee! I did not take these words to mean that it's all up to me . . . only that I need to want Him so passionately that I am willing to walk any road in my pursuit of Him. Pressing toward the mark . . .
DeleteOkay, we’ll have to take this behind the scenes. 😁
Delete~smile~
Delete"And in the glory there my great reward"
ReplyDeleteChallenging words to live by...but it's always good to look to our hope and our future in the midst.
I agree! Looking towards our reward is great motivation to endure!
Delete