As the rain and snow

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.” Psalm 125:1-2

“The righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:6-7

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“Fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Like a mountain. Unmoved, abiding forever, surrounded from this time forth and forevermore. Surely these describe strength, stability, security beyond any we humans can fathom or put into place. The solid promise is that those who trust in the Lord are immovable, strong, established on earth and touching the heavens.

If this is true, which God’s word is- He does not lie but every word spoken is backed by unchanging righteous and the sufficient might to fulfill- why do we spend so much time wrangling in fear? Afraid of danger, afraid of sickness, afraid of failure, afraid of being exposed. Afraid for our children, afraid for our country, afraid for our future, afraid for our health. Afraid of pain, afraid of uncertainty, afraid of being cheated, afraid of death. We are surrounded by the Lord, and He is on our side and rules eternally from His perfect throne. Why do we outright disobey His consistent command not to fear? (Deuteronomy 31:6; Isaiah 41:10; John 6:20; Romans 8:31-39)

What moves us to quaking that should be moving us to Jesus? When will we start taking the Lord at His word, and taking that word to battle? Into hard circumstances beyond our control, into strained relationships, anxieties, and incapacities?

“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

‘Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

‘When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

‘When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

‘The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.'” George Keith (1787)

Father, in every activity and proclivity, may my heart devotion and faith be unmoved. Keep my soul firm as a mountain, grounded in You and always touching heaven.

“Israel is a luxuriant vine
    that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
    the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
    he improved his pillars.
Their heart is false;
    now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
    and destroy their pillars.

For now they will say:
    ‘We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
    and a king—what could he do for us?’
They utter mere words;
    with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the field…

Sow for yourselves righteousness;
    reap steadfast love;
    break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
    that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

You have plowed iniquity;
    you have reaped injustice;
    you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way.” Hosea 10:1-4,12-13

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and rules and statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you… out of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness,.. who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna… to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth… And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” Deuteronomy 8:11-19

From early on, the Lord warned Israel of the dangers of amassing fruit and wealth, filling lusty eyes with treasure until they sparkle, and of corrupting affections by claiming them their own. They’d relinquished right thinking and distort the reality of proper authority and who gives every perfect gift. Succumbing to greed and idolatry ultimately brings judgment. (Romans 1:21-25; James 1:17)

We work hard to achieve, build, or overcome, then claim success and victory as our own. We profess to know God, and even identify our bounty as ‘blessing,’ yet we deny His ownership of and favor on our works. In fact, the Lord mercifully saves us unto these works. Our intent should always be to bring Him the glory He deserves by putting into practice His bestowed gifts. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 1:16; 3:3-8,14)

What resources or successes am I calling mine? Where am I denying God’s desire or ability to bless? What if I checked my motive against the truth that ‘His is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is His? Both riches and honor come from Him, in His hand are power and might and… to make great and to give strength?’ (1 Chronicles 29:11-13)

Father, may every effort be by Your strength, every achievement for Your honor, and every success unto Your glory alone. (Isaiah 42:8)

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,  so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:2-14

In Paul’s methodical teaching, he greets the Ephesian church with a blessing, then spells out who they are and what they have. They were always to remember their standing in Christ, and the riches entrusted to them for stewardship in the church and beyond. An inventory would arm them for doing their part in the Body of Christ.

The bounty God’s children own is as unimaginable as it is wonderful as it is awe-inspiring. Only an infinite, all-sufficient God could so endow and supply. The identity and inheritance bestowed is lavish and eternal, empowering and enlightening for daily living with heavenly impact in an earthly world.

If all this is ours, how are we to behave, interact, plan, work, and serve? He’s granted us these precious gifts for a work He’s prepared. His Spirit inspires and unifies and builds, and we are privileged to be caught up in contributing. (Ephesians 1:15-20; 2:10,18-22)

What does being chosen from the beginning to be adopted as God’s child mean to our sense of identity and self-worth? Has it turned insecurity and self-consciousness to Christ-consciousness and desire to emulate Him? If we’re redeemed and forgiven, and are being made holy and blameless for eternity, how does that affect everyday choices, and motivate us beyond living for just me, just now? Where am I working my way, in my strength? If God indeed has a purpose for me, am I exploring His plan and exercising my gifts to that end? How is His indwelling Spirit directing and infusing the way I love, discern, speak, pray? (Esther 4:14; Acts 17:26; Romans 8:26-27; Galatians 5:22-23)

Father, may I daily rejoice in and live out Your bounty, to the praise of Your grace and glory.

“These things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” John 17:13-18

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned… ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14,16

When the dark deep of water is your home, you avoid light and air. Think fish, who might tickle the surface or occasionally slice through the unlined barrier in a flip of other-worldly exertion. Their nature always dominates, and back to the wet they return. In contrast, the dolphin, a mammal needing air, breaks the water’s surface in smooth, regular arcs, silent save for the gentle whoof of a blow before intake of fresh breath. The necessary, life-sustaining rhythm is serene and certain.

As mammal sinners, we can do everything possible to remain in the world’s depths and often prefer the anonymity of darkness. We flit about in places we can hide, unwilling to have habits exposed, and flirting with shame. But we’ll never know full life as God intended without regularly breathing out the old and in the new. We must come to the light and partake of His Spirit to live.

While in the world, we will not escape its pull. But as Jesus prayed, we are not of the world, and can resist the evil one. We have every freedom (and urgent admonition) to break the surface of its mania and drink deeply the air of the heavenly Christ. Regularly carry the oxygen of His countenance and truth and loveliness to the madding realm of darkness. (Philippians 2:15)

What do we love and coddle too much in the present world, and so desert, or even recoil from, the things and people and ways of God? Addictive or sultry habits in entertainment? Mindsets of angst, resentment, or catty complaining? Indulgences of the flesh, wallet, tongue, or mind? When will we take the necessary escape and exhale in order to inhale the purity, wisdom, and inspiration of the Lord?

While destined for this world’s water in our numbered days, take and delight in God’s precepts and have life. Bask in His light, and there we see light. Drink regular deep draughts of Jesus and be refreshed. The longer we linger in the murk of unsound teaching and unchecked passions without taking heavenly air, the harder it will be to make surfacing and remaining in Christ a practice. (Psalm 36:9; 119:92-93; 2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Father, having assigned me to this world for now, keep me coming up for You often and rhythmically. So sate me with Your way, truth, and life that I can spread it here below. (John 14:6)

“At that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews….

“Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.  Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, ‘Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?  Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?’

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’” Daniel 3:8,13-18

Because God was able to deliver them, the brave young Jewish exiles were readily willing to trust Him and their lives to His keeping, and were steadfastly unwilling to sin. Their allegiance was fixed and would not be shaken, no matter how maliciously threatened or tested. Since God was willing to be their God, they were willing to say a wholehearted yes to Him over any demand.

Nebuchadnezzar’s rage escalated when they did not relent, and he ordered the determined young men be bound and thrown into an even hotter furnace. Fury turned to fear when he witnessed a fourth walking in the fire with them, and all unbound and unhurt. “Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.'” (Daniel 3:19-28)

Many situations we encounter will test what we are willing or unwilling to do. Each choice is grounded in what we believe about God, and how much we trust Him to be who He says He is. When we worship, fear, and serve only Him as supreme and sovereign King, He will come first before any threat, temptation, or idol.

How well do we know God and all He’s willing to do for us? How willing are we to know Him better? Do we trust Him enough above our fears, doubts, and outside pressures that we’re unwilling to betray Him? He is able to make all grace abound to us so we have sufficiency in all things! He is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before His glory! His willingness to defend and supply for us should engender hearty willingness to stand with Him! (Romans 8:31-34; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Jude 1:24)

Lord on high, keep me ever willing to trust You above any other. Willing to give Your all for me, You are worthy of my sole devotion.

“Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and no knowledge of God in the land;
there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Therefore the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish…
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
    because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.

The more they increased,
    the more they sinned against me;
    I will change their glory into shame.
They feed on the sin of my people;
    they are greedy for their iniquity.
And it shall be like people, like priest;
    I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.
They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which take away the understanding.
My people inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore…
I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,
and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.”

“The spirit of whoredom is within them,
    and they know not the Lord.” Hosea 4:1-3a,6-12,14c; 5:4

Judgment is pronounced on the nation for its slack and what that slack does back to their life choices. Like a slap in God’s face is the lack of godly behavior of His people. No steeping in His law, no glorious expression of its beauties. Slack in grappling and applying leads to sloppy living, loose filters, chasing after idols, mistreatment of others, and disordered affections. Overall, a lack of righteousness. Rejection of God and His ways portends His rejection in return.

The more we whore with the world and are influenced by godless opinions, caustic sound bites, and morally vacuous ‘expertise’, the less we will think like Jesus. The more profound our lack of knowledge, the looser our conscience and self-control. The closer we skirt toward boundaries of the profane, the more likely to push through them into riotous living- of the heart, or outward. Slack in spiritual discipline renders us unable to perceive the world with a biblical mindset and therefore impotent to interact with others and do business with pure godly intent and expression. (Matthew 22:29)

The only remedy is transformation: Worshiping God to fear God to gain wisdom and understanding. Girding up our loins with the knowledge of God, and getting to work to put truth to practice. Tightening up the slackness in our tether to the Lord. (Hosea 5:15; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:13)

Where do we evidence a lack of knowing the Lord’s character, or the tested vigor of spiritual life? What slack in attitude, willingness, or zeal need we confess? How will we hone life-altering knowledge of the Lord?

Father, keep me tight with You, pressing on to know You better so I can think and live fruitfully, reflecting Your light. (Hosea 6:3)

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am godly;
    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours…
For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God…
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol…
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.
Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” Psalm 86:1-8,10,13,15-17

David’s desperation is ingrained in dependence, his cry borne out of personal communion with His Savior. The infinite God of life and of the soul is the only One who knows and can remedy his trouble. He is not alone in his struggle, but wrestles with the very God who hears and answers prayer. Every need is tethered to an attribute, every outpouring an opening to be filled.

Nurturing a relationship with the Lord maintains ongoing communion, trust, dependence, and an indelible sense that He is our God. We grow in knowledge of Him, and of ourselves, and remain intricately connected in mind and emotion. We know He has delivered us from the depths, we know by experience His ongoing love and mercy, strength and comfort. Therefore we can plead boldly for needs we know He supplies and hurts He assuages.

Do I see how my abundant need is matched by God’s abounding faithfulness? Do I confess my sin based on His mercy and grace, and plead based on His long-suffering? Is my trust based on the fidelity of His word, my confidence in His goodness? All these are true, and are ours for the practicing. (Philippians 4:19)

How committed are we to constant prayer? To the consistent exercise of abiding? A regular, specific time in private quiet is vital, but so is the ongoing conversation of the heart. What are we learning that affects our introspection, meditation, and pleading? What are the results: greater peace, growing patience, increasing boldness, deeper worship, multiplied thanks? (John 15:5; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

God of all bounty, keep me abiding in prayer always, maintaining both vigorous communion and a quiet trusting heart. And for all Your answers, I give You glory, thanks, and praise.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition [or] the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,  and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:6-14

The whole fullness of deity dwells in Jesus. His condescension to become our Savior brings His life to us in a personal, intimate, and supernatural way. If we are by grace sealed in His Spirit, we have been filled with Him, the ruler of all authority. Our heart has been circumcised in Him, our old life buried with Him, and we have been raised with Him in resurrection power. We are alive with Him, forgiven and free to say no to worldliness and wayward affections and to walk in His ways. (Romans 2:28-29; Philippians 2:2-8)

The more we understand who He is, and all that dwells in us in Him, the more we’re motivated and empowered to walk as He walks. With every spiritual blessing ours, we have every reason and resource to conduct our lives in His life here below. Rooted and built up in Him, we have His mind to recognize the wrong thinking and distorted reason of the world, and to think rightly. We have abiding peace that enables us to make peace with others. We have grace and power to say no to ungodliness and to bear the fruit of the Spirit. (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:3; Philippians 4:7; Titus 2:11-12)

How distinctly am I living out what He is in and with me?

“May the mind of Christ, my Savior, 
Live in me from day to day,
By his love and pow’r controlling 
All I do and say.

May the word of God dwell richly 
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph 
Only through his pow’r.

May the peace of God, my Father, 
Rule my life in ev’rything,
That I may be calm to comfort 
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me 
As the waters fill the sea.
Him exalting, self abasing:
This is victory.

May I run the race before me, 
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus 
As we onward go.” ~Kate B. Wilkinson (1925)

Lord, so establish me in You that I live out Jesus in every way, to the thanksgiving and praise of Your grace and glory.

“The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.  And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.'” Numbers 33:50-53

“The Lord said to Joshua,.. ‘Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them… Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.'” Joshua 1:1-3

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“The Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you,.. was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” 2 Corinthians 1:19-20

When the LORD speaks, His word counts. It is clear. It carries power. It is true, real, and accomplished in the heavens where there is only eternal time. The future and present are equal in God’s divine economy, as are promises uttered and fulfilled. He is the beginning and the end, the first and last. Throughout the Bible and history we see heroes of faith stepping out, moving on, conquering people and lands and sin habits, believing that God’s I will is the same as have done. (Romans 4:19-25; Hebrews 11:7-21,24-27; Revelation 21:6a)

This grand and hope-filled truth should drive expectancy, obedience, and zeal in our day to day. The temptations and irritations that eat away at devotion have been borne on the cross! The bitterness, sloth, and disdain we coddle and carry have been crucified! Jesus conquered all these so we can live in the yes and amen, free to be and love and serve as He intends! If God has pledged fruitfulness and victory, why do we live in spiritual barrenness and defeat?(Romans 6:1-8,12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

What do my attitudes and actions reveal about my belief- or doubt- in God’s ability to fulfill His word? If all His plans are formed of old, and faithful and sure, how intently am I doing my part to bring them to fruition and completion? In what good works, intended for me from the beginning, am I currently invested? How wholeheartedly do I invest my attention, time, and resources? Are there distractions I need put away in order to focus more on God’s specific commands to me? What adjustments are needed in personal confession, priorities, or transparency, for me to take new territories in faith? (Ephesians 2:10)

Lord, help me live in the confident amen of Your promises and purposes for me, to the blessing of many and exaltation of Your glory.

“My soul clings to the dust;
    give me life according to your word!
When I told of my ways, you answered me;
    teach me your statutes!
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
My soul melts away for sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word!
Put false ways far from me
    and graciously teach me your law!
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I set your rules before me.
I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;
    let me not be put to shame!
I will run in the way of your commandments
    when you enlarge my heart!

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
    and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
    and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
    for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
    and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
    and give me life in your ways.” Psalm 119:25-37

The psalmist’s cry is born of wrangling with God’s word. The more he saw of its truth, the more clearly he saw the truth about himself. The brighter its light on its perfect Author, the more personal dark spots it revealed. The more closely it was held in forward focus, the greater his desire to put old ways distantly behind and away. For the earnest believer, God’s ways revealed in His word are a delight to behold and a magnet toward Him. They attract and compel, convict and cleanse.

With His word readily accessible, and God’s Spirit active to enlighten and inspire, how would we define our wrangle? How measures our passion to know and follow? What are we investing to comprehend God’s marvelous and mysterious ways, and then to apply them personally so we’re on their path and in their flow? (John 16:8,13)

The imploring to understand is matched by commitment to meditate. A choice for faithfulness is a choice to keep God’s precepts before us and in charge. We must fling off the dust we once clung to in order to cling to His truth. A divided heart must be re-inclined to be whole for the Lord. Eyes can be directed only one place, and must divert from worthless distractions to focus on His way.

What will it take for me to get off my way and get on His high best way?

“Have thine own way, Lord! 
Have thine own way! 
Thou art the potter, 
I am the clay. 
Mold me and make me 
after thy will, 
while I am waiting, 
yielded and still. 

Have thine own way, Lord! 
Have thine own way! 
Search me and try me, 
Savior today! 
Wash me just now, Lord, 
wash me just now, 
as in thy presence 
humbly I bow. 

Have thine own way, Lord! 
Have thine own way! 
Hold o’er my being 
absolute sway. 
Fill with thy Spirit 
till all shall see 
Christ only, always, 
living in me!” ~Adelaide Pollard (1906)

Lord, overtake my every inclination and effort so my delight is Your word and my ways become Yours. May I hasten and not delay to build Your kingdom and honor Your name. (Psalm 119:59-60)