First of all, FATHER, thank You for Jesus, His death, burial and resurrection – and for calling me to be Your child, in Him. This gift of Your love and grace is so beyond anything else, no words can fully describe . . . all I can offer is my worship, my praise, my adoration and my surrender to You as my Lord, my King, my Savior. Let it be so in me LORD, not in words but in the intention of my heart, mind soul and strength.
In reading this morning – 1 Chronicle 4 the commentary mentions - “First, Jabez prayed to be blessed indeed. There are many who are blessed, but they are not blessed indeed. That is, they have something that is in one sense a blessings (such as family, salvation, wealth, fame, health, security), but yet because of fundamental dissatisfaction in their life, they are not blessed indeed.”
I must confess, that these words pierced my heart; that I am guilty of a form of this “fundamental dissatisfaction” and I pray, I cry out to You that You will forgive me and change my heart. It just occurred to me that the next thought that spoke to me was from Romans 8 commentary - "He knows nothing about the life that God offers. He thinks he is living life but is actually living in death and doesn't know it because he is deceived."
You have given me this new life and perhaps because I have lived it for so long, because You have blessed my life in so many ways, that I have forgotten or grown accustomed to just how blessed I really am. There is a fine line between confidence and presumption, between gratitude and taking for granted. O FATHER, may it not be so with me, that I ever take for granted all that You have done for me; that I ever presume upon YOUR grace so lavishly poured out upon me.
A broken and contrite heart, these You will not despise – so break my heart LORD, and then put the pieces back together so that it will be a heart of Your making, a heart where You are pleased to dwell and reign.
