"All My Desire"
Psalm 38:9
All I have
experienced at the hands of my God and all I know of his free and sovereign
grace in Christ inspires and constantly presses upon me the pursuit of these
five great desires. These are the things upon which my heart is fixed, the
things for which I labor, the things for which my heart groans before God.
THE FAVOR OF GOD - "I entreated thy favor with my whole
heart" (Psa. 119:58). So long as I am conscious of God's favor, I am strong. No foe can
terrify me. No trouble can destroy me. But there are times when God hides his
face from me. Then I am troubled (Psa. 30:7). It is the awareness of God's
favor that gives me peace.
THE IMAGE OF
GOD - I want to be like my God. The image of God is Jesus Christ. I rejoice to
know that one day soon I shall be like him, perfectly holy and without sin
(Rom.
THE PRESENCE
OF GOD - Nothing can give me rest in this world of trouble but the conscious
awareness of God's presence. I cannot lead his people (Ex. 33:14-15), endure
the trials and temptations of life (Isa. 42:10; 43:1-7), live peaceably in this
world of woe, worship with his saints (Matt.
THE WILL OF GOD - (Prov.
3:5-6). I have learned and am constantly reminded that it is never best
for me to have my will. I do not know what I need, or what is best for me. My
Savior taught me to pray, "Not my will, Thy will be done!" If I had
my life to live over and could choose whatever I wanted, I would walk the same
path, endure the same heartaches, experience the same troubles, and weep the
same tears as it has been my lot to experience. What has been has been the will
of my Father. And what shall be, I gladly leave to him.
THE GLORY OF
GOD - (Psa. 35:27). "Father, glorify thy name!" I truly want nothing
else. In my home, in the life I live, in the affairs of the church, and in the
doctrine I believe and preach, the glory of God is and must be paramount!
Nothing else matters. What are the things for which your heart groans and
labors?
Don Fortner