Today's Worship: The Lord may bring us to our knees!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in James 1:2-4,

 

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

 

All believers are on a trajectory while still in this life. We are all headed in a common direction and there is no stopping it. It is God's agenda for each one of us and he will have his way in our lives. This unalterable process is to conformed us "to the image of Jesus Christ." Romans 8:28-29. There, in that passage, Paul tells us that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him". It is this perfecting of our lives that the Lord uses the circumstances we encounter. James calls them "trials". The writer of Hebrews calls it "discipline", Hebrews 12:5-11. So does Jesus himself in his letter to the church in Laodicea, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." Revelation 3:19.

 

We become God's children not by being good but by embracing him in faith. Most of us enter into his family not looking so good. I know I did. Now that we have embraced him in faith and are his, he has an agenda for us. He is going to bring about some needed changes in our lives.

 

We might be loathe to admit it, but we all have struggles with our sin natures. I know I do and I also know you do. We all do. None of us came into God's kingdom with impeccable credentials of godliness and the Lord has committed himself to bringing about the changes that are needed to conform us to the desires he has for us: "that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

 

It matters not how stubborn we are, how given we might be to old ways and the pull of pride, the Lord will have his way in our lives. Rest assured, he can, and if need be will, bring us to our knees to bring about the changes that he seeks in our lives.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com