Peter begins his epistle thanking and praising God for what he has done for us in the past, in the death and resurrection of Christ. Staring from what Christ has done in the past, Peter then looks ahead to the final day in which we will receive our eternal inheritance, an inheritance that is kept and preserved for us by God.

As Peter looks ahead to the subsequent glories of the cross he does not only look to the day of our eternal inheritance, he also addresses how the glories of the cross impact our current daily life. While the past work of the cross is supreme, and our future is wondrously glorious, so also our current life is filled with the glories of the cross.

But Peter is clear that in order to see and enjoy the subsequent glories of the cross in our daily lives we need to have faith. It is by the filter of faith that we can perceive the circumstances of our daily lives as glorious and hopeful. Whether we are experiencing an exciting day, a mundane day, or especially a painful day, we are able, by faith, to appreciate our circumstances as subsequent glories of the cross. Faith sees God’s hand and his Christ exalting purposes in every circumstance of our lives–most notably in trials. Without faith we don’t make these connections. No wonder Peter calls our faith “…more precious than gold.” Each time we make this connection–expressly in the midst of trials–and rejoice in God’s doing, we obtain a measure of the goal of our faith. We see God’s hand as he brings to completion the salvation of our souls.

We long for the final and ultimate entry into our eternal inheritance, but we also rejoice in every victory of our faith, every trial we endure, every sin put to death. This is God’s work: “…by his power we are guarded through faith…” (1 Peter 1:5). And so just as God himself has accomplished all that we need to be saved on the cross of the past, he is also currently working out the subsequent glories of the cross, by upholding our faith day-by-day, delivering to us measure-by-measure the goal of our faith, until the final day.

Thank you Jesus that your death was so great that it continues to afford to me subsequent glories to this very day. Your power and your life uphold my faith and so I have great hope. Help me to walk in the faith that you have given to me, rejoicing in you, rejoicing in the gospel of the cross and longing for the glories yet to come.

It will be much easier for me if I humble myself than if I must be humbled by external means. When pride rules in my heart I strive and strain, kicking against the restraint of rules, or responsibilities, or any of the circumstances God ordains to rein me in. But if I walk in humility, those implements which impose restraint will be worn comfortably.

My wife has recently had one of her life long dreams come true. She has a pony and a horse. She is now learning all sorts of new things about how to handle a horse. One of these things is that a horse needs to be humbled. And once humbled, it must be worked with regularly to maintain its cooperative state. If left to itself, for any length of time, it will become resistant.

Blaze, our new horse, is humbled, but Peaches the pony is not. Blaze can be led about with a gentle tug on his halter – Peaches resists and must be yanked around. The horse, while being much bigger than the pony, can be ridden by our young children. The pony can only be ridden by an experienced rider – one who knows how to kick and prod and keep her under control.

Both Blaze and Peaches wear the same kind of halter, and we use a similar bit and bridle on each when we ride them. But while Blaze yields to a gentle tug, Peaches has to be kicked and yanked in order to go where we want her to.

My wife will often take Blaze out of the fenced-in meadow and walk him through the yard and the adjacent fields where he can eat from the tall green grasses. As he is enjoying his munching, Peaches whinnies and gallops around in displeasure, having been left behind, alone inside the fence.

God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. He loves His children and therefore disciplines us for our good. He uses many devices to turn me from pride to humility. All of these devises, these means of humility, are from His mercy – and I need them. To be led about a horse needs to wear its halter, and a bit and bridle must be put on before it can be ridden. To maintain humility, to keep my soul in a state of happy compliance with God, I must also wear the means of humility – whatever they may be – just as a horse must wear its halter. If I remove the means of humility my wild, fleshly nature will soon re-assert itself. But if I receive the means without resistance they can be worn quite comfortably such that, at times, I may not even be aware of their presence. But if I struggle against the means of humility, not only do they become uncomfortable, but my inner outrage fusses and complains just like the pony blustering inside the fence as its partner grazes happily in the rich green meadow.

To be humble is a happy, comfortable and blessed condition. To be humbled hurts twice – it feels the intent of restraints and it boils inside with the vexation of pride which poisons the soul.

In contrast, while my humility is maintained, in part by external and merciful means, the humility of Jesus is perfect and complete. He needed no restraints to perfectly obey His Father’s will. How ironic that they bound Jesus with ropes as they led Him to the court. His humility and obedience were, in themselves strong as iron. What strength is there in a rope or a chain compared to the resolve and joyful obedience of Christ. I may need prods, but His compliance comes from a perfect contentment in the will of God. He submitted to the ropes, the chains, the nails, not because he needed to be held by external force, but because he stood in our place, as our representative, as our substitute. The ropes were our ropes. And if we faced the judgment of wrath we would by no means stand still; we would run, hide, and flee from our condemnation – if we could. And so, as a stand-in for us, He wore the ropes and was tied to the post and fastened to the cross.

Oh, to be humble! Lord, grant this blustering one humility and make me happy to walk in your green pastures. Grant me grace to humble myself so that I may walk about in all the fullness of your blessings – happily as you designed. Kill my pride and my kicking spirit – let me wear the means of my salvation with joy gladness. Thank you for the grace that can make this soul happy in your fields. Amen.

“Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.” Psalms 32:9

How good it is to come out the other side of a trial. Trials are painful, but they accomplish a good purpose. But going through them is no fun. All trials are designed to produce a fruitful harvest of righteousness and they always ultimately improve our lives and increase our joy. How good it is to enjoy the fruit of righteousness which has been born of an accomplished and completed trial.

We live through seasons – seasons of trial and seasons of refreshments and rest. Yet if we still have life we can be assured that there are still trials laid out before us. Sometimes we see trials coming. We may foresee a financial trial – or maybe we experience early symptoms of a progressive illness. In such times we endure stress and dread of what is coming.

God’s grace is sufficient in every trial. He walks with us through them all. Yet we still dread our trials. I’m thankful that I do not know the details of the trials that I have yet to endure. I am protected from dread because I do not know the details of tomorrow’s evil. I trust God that when they come, His grace will flow, and He will meet all my needs. I also have a sense of peace and rest today, in part because I am protected from the knowledge of what I may face tomorrow. For example, I do not know how I will die – whether as an old man in my sleep or with my days cut short in some accident or by some painful disease. I’m glad I don’t know – my God ordained ignorance affords me a measure of peace for today.

But Jesus was not ignorant of His trial. He knew exactly what was coming. His distress was full of the perfect knowledge of exactly what was coming His way. Yet He did not shrink back. He faced, with full knowledge, all the dreadful pains in front of Him. He knew He would be betrayed by one friend and denied by another. He knew that conspiracy and injustice that would put Him in chains. He knew of the beatings, mocking, spitting and beard plucking. He knew about the flogging and the thorns. He knew about the cross, the piercing and stabbing. He also knew about the cup. The cup of wrath had to be drunk, and He knew He had to drink it down.

If I were to learn today that I had cancer and would have to undergo chemotherapy which would cause awful nausea and vomiting, I would have much dread to endure in sickly anticipation of the actual events themselves. In contrast, if I suddenly came down with a stomach virus I might have the same ultimate experience, but without the dead of anticipating the pain. How much more potent the dread Jesus faced as he drew near the time of His death. As He faced the ultimate dread, He did not waver, He did not run away, He proceeded in perfect obedience and willingly endured the cross. The cross did not come upon Him suddenly and by surprise, but rather step-by-step according to His full knowledge and perfect anticipation.

How strong He is. How brave He is. How fearless. How resolute. How admirable and worthy of praise.

He did it and it is accomplished! He underwent that baptism and it is complete. No trial lays before Him – all has been established. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. And now that He has accomplished it, He lives in perfect joy. He had the worst of trials and now He enjoys the greatest of its fruits – forever.

How sweet it is too, that He invites us to enjoy His joy with Him. He is preparing our place. He will deliver us into the fullness of His kingdom where all our trials will be past and only joy will remain.

Thank you, Jesus for your endurance and strength. Thank you for securing our blessings and establishing a waterfall of grace and mercy which abounds for us forever. Grant me grace in times of trial and a view of the eternal weight of glory to sustain me and anchor my hope and my delight in you. Amen.

An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.”

Luke 9:43-46

It is an amazing testimony to the tenacity of indwelling sin, that not even a front row seat before the radiance of the glory of Christ can eradicate our pride and arrogance. We need to see the glory of Christ, but we need to see His glory in and through the cross in order to put sin to death.

Shortly after witnessing the transfiguration of Christ, James and John started to get cocky. Their close association with the one who would be enthroned as king went to their heads. But Jesus knew better what awaited Him in Jerusalem. His kingdom would not be established through worldly triumph, but rather through the cross. The glory of the cross was not the kind of glory the disciples were anticipating as they boldly approached Jerusalem.

Jesus tried to warn them. He exhorted them to let His words sink into their ears – “The son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they were so certain that greatness was at hand that they could not, would not, understand what Jesus was talking about. They tasted power and authority. James and John’s behavior revealed their expectation that they would be among this king’s deputies. And they were already jockeying for position among the twelve, for surely Jesus would set an order of authority. If they were to secure a high position they need to start acting like the leaders they intended to become.

So they started policing the crowds with their authority. When someone tried to cast out demons apart from their authorization – they put a stop to it. When a Samaritan village refused to receive the King – they were ready to call fire down upon it.

James and John were among the inner circle of the inner circle. They had been chosen to follow the most amazing man in history. And though they never observed even a hint of arrogance exemplified in their master, and though had just recently seen Him shinning in His glory, nevertheless they became arrogant.

In the midst of their arrogance Jesus warned them that what they expected in Jerusalem was not going to happen – rather something they were not able to understand awaited them. Had they understood, their attitudes would not have been so completely inconsistent with their appointed positions. But they could not see it. Arrogance is like that – it blinds. It even blinds us to the glory of the cross. If we fall into the trap of thinking highly of ourselves, we fail to understand how the crucifixion is good news. If we arrogantly perceive ourselves as something great we cannot calculate how God could be glorified by going to the cross.

Arrogance blinds us to the glory of the cross, but the cross is the cure for blinding arrogance.

After Jesus died and rose again – after the cross – the disciples were changed. The boasting manifest on the road to Jerusalem ceased. In view of the cross there can be no boasting in one’s position. The cross crushes all vain anticipation of worldly power – and replaces it with eternal hopes and joyful satisfaction in the redeemer of souls. It is impossible to see the cross, to truly see it, and remain arrogant. The gospel of the cross smashes pride and replaces it with God-honoring, Christ-exulting, fellow-man-loving humility.

The process through which the disciples’ arrogance was killed and replaced with humility was indeed a painful one. Christ endured the pains of the cross – but the disciples suffered too. Those days leading up to the crucifixion and the days He was in the ground were dream-shattering, gut-wrenching, terrifying days. Unfortunately, pride and arrogance is rarely broken without similarly traumatic events. But God is wonderfully faithful to bring such events into our lives. I rejoice that he will not leave me in my pride. I might walk, for a season, as on a triumphal road to Jerusalem. Jesus patiently puts up with me along the road even as He reminds me of pride’s dangers.

Yet warnings often don’t have enough weight to break my pride, only a view of the cross can effectively overcome arrogance and replace it with humility. When the dark night of the soul arrives the foolishness of boasting becomes evident. And gloriously – at the same time that pride is crushed the eyes are opened to the glory of the cross. The gospel light shines into the heart with power. Yes, sin is painfully exposed – but through repentance the eyes of the heart are opened to the glory of God in the face of Christ. We see His perfection, His holiness, His righteousness, and His wisdom, and it delights the soul. God’s mercy exposes pride, and His beauty bestows humility.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your faithful wounds that heal. Thank you that the power of the cross – the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings is the road to seeing your glory. Keep my feet on your path. Grant me grace to walk straight. And with each step – whether smooth or rocky – let my eyes see your face before me. Amen.

I wonder how the gospel was preached prior to the crucifixion? Throughout Jesus’ ministry He and His disciples preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Whatever allusions to the cross contained in these messages were lost to its hearers. Yet the gospel was preached. Certainly, there are many things that can be said about the gospel without direct reference to the cross. For example: righteous requirements for human conduct, promises for future rewards, hope for peace, and standards for justice. Such facets of the nascent gospel were understood best by Jews – because they had the law and prophets as context. Even so the Jews struggled to comprehend the basic aspects of the non-cross centered gospel – how much more perplexing would a cross exalting gospel be to them.

Yet the gospel, in its fullness, was ordained from eternity to be manifest through the cross of Christ. The gospel about the greatness of the glory of God was never designed to be understood primarily through any historical context, but rather through the revelation of a hidden mystery. The pinnacle of the gospel was plunked down, as it were, in the midst of history. For who would have imagined the cross? Who could comprehend the innocent and pure Lamb of God would be slaughtered for corrupt God-haters? The cross had no historical antecedent. It did have some vague foreshadowing and symbolic representation in the Old Testament, but such hints of a God slaying gospel were never established in human expectations.

The cross-centered gospel of Christ transcends all earthly historical context or rational ground for understanding and grasping the glory of God. It is the ultimate spiritual enigma.

True, there are many aspects of the gospel which can be spoken of, explained, and preached which have common ground in human understanding. For instance we can speak in depth about the gospel’s effects on family relationships in a way just about anyone can grasp and appreciate. But ultimately it is the gospel of grace, seen in a cross, which establishes and explains every aspect of existence. The gospel’s cross exalting core rests not on human wisdom, but on hidden wisdom. The wisdom of the cross is a mystery which no human ruler has ever understood. It is foolishness to the so-called enlightened and distained by the human-centered mind.

But the mystery of the gospel is wonderful to those who are called, to those whom God has been pleased to reveal it. The cross perfectly connects earth and eternity. It brings the greatness of the glory of the gospel of Christ into view thereby halting all arrogant speculations and humbling all before the inexplicable mercy of God. The knowledge of such a wonderful redeeming God does not come through an understanding of historical precedent. On the contrary the self-authenticating, supernatural, spiritual revelation of the gospel in the soul comes through the power of the Spirit of God. It is the spiritual impartation of the gospel that enables right understanding of history. History, in this sense, begins at the cross and works backward and forward from it. For no one could have guessed from the beginning, what God would do. And no one coming after the cross can grasp the wisdom of the cross unless he is given new eyes and a new heart.

I praise you Lord for the glorious gospel of grace in the message of the cross. For by it your righteousness is exalted and by it I have life. Lord set the eyes of my heart on the glory of the cross and let your Spirit flow with power to proclaim and adorn the gospel – to the glory of Christ above. Amen.

Which, among all the great things that Jesus has done for me, should I describe? For if my eyes are open and my heart is responsive to the tender mercies of God, I will see a thousand great things every day that God does for me. Even trials, which sometimes cloud my view of God’s blessings, can be counted among the great things God does, since they flow from His throne of grace. Times of testing are brief in the balance of eternity and Jesus will turn each test and every pain into servants for my good.

The demoniac suffered greatly under the oppression of a legion of demons. But when Jesus freed him, he testified not about the details of his past torment, but rather of the grace, mercy, and power of God which came to him through Christ. He described his new freedom and proclaimed the blessings restored to him.

What great things should I proclaimed today? I could speak of the many lovely things God has granted to me in His mercy. With little effort I could quickly list a dozen prominent blessings of home and health. And with a bit of focused thought I could list a hundred more common graces that bless me throughout my days, all of which are among the great things God does for me.

Yet I desire to speak of just one great thing God has done, the one thing that matters most, the one thing through which every other blessing has been secured. Jesus went to the cross for me. The demoniac testified to some great things he received, but the greatest thing had not yet been done for him. Greater than freedom from demons is freedom from sin. Greater than the blessing of restored sanity is freedom from the just wrath of God.

What great things will I proclaim? I will proclaim the cross of Christ which brings into view the glorious gospel of God’s grace: God’s righteousness and upheld, God’s justice satisfied, God’s wrath emptied, my adoption into his family, my transfer into His kingdom, and my eternal blessing secured through Christ.

O Lord what great things you have done for me. Every one of them has been purchased by your blood. Therefore your blood, your death, and your victory by resurrection are my greatest good. Let me be satisfied to proclaim the greatest thing – the gospel, which reveals the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Amen.

Even as God cursed man in righteous judgment, His was mercy mingled with His verdict. Humanity was judged and cursed because of their failure to obey God’s command. Adam and Eve were ejected from the garden where they had enjoyed fruit that grew from plants and trees that God Himself had planted. The curse took away their abundant provision and forced them to pound dirt and tangle with thorns, through sweat and hard toil, for food. And the curse remains to this very day. Difficult toil and frequent hardships are common occurrences.

The curse is justly deserved. How is it then – how can I account for blessings such as rich soil, profitable work, and pleasant circumstances that often fall upon me? Thorns are common, but so are rich banquets. Thorns are due to my own sin, the ground is cursed because of me; so what causes it to produce good crops? It is all because of God’s mercy. God’s mercy is profoundly poured out upon fallen and sinful man. Our work has been cursed. As a result hard toil often results only in thorns. When I get thorns I am receiving justice. I deserve nothing better than thorns for my toil. Yet so often the ground yields fruitful harvests. Even in His cursing, God’s mercy stands forth.

Living under the curse means that all thorns are well deserved. I cannot justly complain when my toil yields no fruit, or when I am pricked. How much more culpable I become when I add bitterness toward God’s righteous judgment when I experience trials. What’s worse is my guilt if I fail to give profound thanks for the many undeserved blessings God grants in spite of the curse.

If the cursed life contains so much of God’s mercy, how much more is God’s mercy and goodness manifest in the cross! That I often have plates full of good food during my days under the sun is a profound mercy. That He would grant me forgiveness through the death of His own Son is amazing grace indeed. Not only this, but through the cross, God reverses the ultimate effect of the curse’s thorns. He conscripts them as particular means of blessing for my good! God’s blessing of redemption does not just remove the end result of the curse – death, but it also changes the effect of each occasion of hardship. Trials turn to gold. Toil, in the Lord, becomes blessed. Thorns turn my heart to Lord and produce humility which leads me into deeper experiences of His grace. How incomprehensible and vast is the mercy of God! For my sin I at least deserve the enduring effects of the curse; toil and thorns are gentle in view of what I deserve for my sins. But God’s redemption is so thorough that it will not leave even the prick of a thorn unconverted. The common and simple rewards that so frequently correspond to hard work are great demonstrations of God’s mercy. How much more is justification from sin?

Not even painful trials can hurt me for God uses even trials two bless and improve my life. If thorns lose their prick and toil becomes blessed in the Lord, what curse remains toward those who so richly deserve it? None, for my Lord became a curse for me, as He hung on the tree. Now, even as I dwell on the cursed ground of the earth, God turns even thorns and thistles into helpful prods and loving pricks’ that direct my steps toward Christ. The mercy of God triumphs over judgment, to the glory of God and the eternal joy of His people.

Thank you Jesus, for becoming a curse for me so that the curse I deserve is lifted and its effects no longer harm, but help me. Therefore, Lord, use every trial to draw me, and every blessing to remind me of your abundant grace and impossible mercy. Amen.

Psalms 123:2

I’m so glad that John Piper took the time to write an entire book called “Future Grace” to underscore the future orientation of our faith that looks to God for grace in meeting all our current and future needs. For myself, as an American evangelical Christian, my theological backdrop has strongly emphasized the all sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross, my total justification by his blood, and my security in being saved. These are all precious facts rooted and established in the past work of Christ. I ought always to remember and be strengthened by such rock solid foundations.

But God’s people are not called to live out faith only as a memorialized appreciation of something that has already been fully accomplished. Rather, based on what has been accomplished, we are freed to look to God for all our current and future needs. God’s utter dependability to meet these future needs is promised to us. The delivery mechanism used to fulfill such promises is called grace.

Past grace strengthens our confidence, builds our assurance, and enlarges our faith; not ultimately so that we will have appropriate gratitude, but also – more importantly – that we would look to God again and again. God will never stop being an overflowing fountain of grace to meet our every need – turning every need into an opportunity for our eyes to be opened to the glory of the Lord enthroned in heaven.

I have so much greater joy in Christ knowing that God does not expect me to only rejoice in what has done for me, but also to look expectantly, as a servant looks to the hand of his master, for future provisions of His grace, goodness and blessings. Such grace is perfectly designed to satisfy my soul in all that God is as the pinnacle and source of all joy, beauty and love.

O my soul, remember what God has done, and let His established grace utterly prove His unwavering commitment to supply all your future needs, and all your ultimate desires with soul satisfying grace; grace that causes you to delight in the Lord of heaven; grace that satisfies your soul in God. Amen.

Zechariah 3:4

Jesus is not satisfied only to remove our filthy garments. Scouring out our deeply set stains of sin was indeed costly; it required a cross to purify, and wash us clean. Yet the removal of sin is not the final end, rather it is but the beginning of Jesus’ work. He washed us from our sins so that He could clothe us with festal robes! Jesus intends to present us to Himself in gloriously beautiful clothes. These new clothes are not simply clean versions of the same kind as our old clothes. They’re not simply clean clothes, but special festal robes. Only language used to describe the ultimate in human celebration is fit to describe the garments that Jesus will clothe us with. They are wedding clothes. Bride’s clothes – close so singular in their beauty that to wear them in a menial context would be laughable. Jesus died to purchase, purify and present us to Himself in glorious clothes – designed to display glory and honor and delight Him as bridegroom.

In heaven we will be presented without spot or wrinkled or any such thing but holy. O how the Christian soul longs to be clothed, clothed – as it were – in a house not made by hands, eternal in heavens, swallowed up by life. Jesus however is not biding his time until that day. No, He is at work as a tailor or seamstress measuring, cutting, and stitching new clothes for us even now.

How often we are exhorted to clothe ourselves in the word. We are told to clothe ourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to put on righteousness. We are to put on new life. The process of getting dressed in these clothes has already begun. The process of being clothed in festal robes starts from the moment of our cleansing. Jesus did not cleanse us just so that we would put our old filthy clothes back on. We are to put off the old self, and put on the new.

When someone goes on a job interview, or on a date, they give careful consideration to what they wear. That in which they clothed themselves will give an impression to the one they go to see. They want to make a good impression. Should not the “clothes” that Christian’s wear be worn with the same intentionality, to make a good impression? Not our physical clothes (though they might matter in some small degree) but the clothes of Colossians 3:12-14… “And so, as those who have been chosen of God, Holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; Just as the Lord forgave you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ”

O my soul, wear such clothes as these; wear them first because the lover of your soul has cleansed you and given them to you because He wants to present you to Himself in glorious raiment. Wear them also to show forth His glory – making a good impression – to the world, reflecting the greatness and majesty of the Lord.

“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

Zephaniah 3:14-15, 17

At, first, when I read verses like these in Zephaniah, verses that extol me to shout with joy, or to rejoice and exalt with all my heart, at first my heart rises with the possibility of such an astounding and consuming joy in God. Quickly following this spark, however, sadness often comes because my heart, in fact, is not like this. Such exuberance of joy and gladness displayed in such active expressions as shouting for joy are not typical of my emotional currents. Yet the occasion that calls for such joyful, glad celebration has been more completely delivered to me than it had been for those to whom these verses were originally written. They originally promised a physical deliverance from armies of oppressors. I have been given a greater deliverance; I have been delivered from sin. All God’s judgments have been thoroughly taken away from me. He has utterly defeated my enemies. Why shouldn’t my heart rejoice and shout joyfully since I have received, in full, these promises?

In truth, my heart may rejoice, and does rejoice by the grace of God, yet there are preventers that can keep my heart from the joy to which it has been called, or that mitigate and stifle the fullness of its joy. What are these evil, stubborn preventers; these robbers and mufflers of joy? In a word they are my sin, residing yet in my flesh, which daily and constantly battles against my faith to the end that I will fail to lay hold of the glorious victory God has already won through Christ’s overcoming on the cross. By the spirit I may have the spiritual eyes to see and the spiritual ears to hear the victory song of my risen Lord. But if the flesh wins its skirmishes my faith will be weakened so that the heavenly singing fades and my joy diminishes.

Oh to gain the victory, by the Spirit, over the flesh and kill my sin. Putting to death the flesh is necessary if my faith is to be strong. And when my faith is strong and I can hear more clearly the sounds of joy and my heart resonates with its chords.

The fight of faith includes daily battles, and while it has not been ordained for me to decisively win every battle, it has been ordained for me to fight a winning war, to gain ground, to push back the enemy, to grow in strength, and, praise God, to ultimately win. Therefore I will fight and engage in battle and wrestle against sin, and never give up.

Here is just one tactical maneuver I can use in my fighting. Look at verse 17 “He will exalt over you with joy, He will be quiet in his love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” At moments when my heart might not be shouting for joy I need to remember that God, though I may not hear it, is singing over me with joy and rejoicing over me with shouts of joy. While my heart might grow faint, God’s never does. While my joy might ebb and flow His never does. Let the bigness, the sovereignty, the transcendence of God always assure me that He is in control, but remember that for as infinite as God is, He is also personal, present, and emotionally engaged, more deeply than I will ever know. His call to me to rejoice with shouts of joy is not a call to originate something out from myself. It is a call to respond to His shouts of joy. To command my rejoicing is not to frustrate me by requiring something that I cannot generate – it is a command that awakens faith to see and hear the exaltation of God’s joy and to be caught up in His victory song.

Therefore my soul, when you are fighting against the deadening attacks of the flesh, fight back with faith that believes that God’s music yet plays – His songs are being sung, He is shouting with joy. Let your heart arise and think about the music of heaven – make your shouts of joy an echoing of God’s shouts of joy. Meditate and contemplates on what it will sound like when the war is over and the final battle has been won, and your faith will turn to sight and the songs of heaven will ring forth, and your ears will hear them perfectly. Listen soul; listen to the joy of the Lord.