enlarge my heart

nothing i do on this earth
whether it be worship
whether it be surrender
whether it be loving like Him
whether it be walking in His ways
whether it be becoming like Him

nothing
can be done in my own strength

my heart is so desperately wicked and deceitful. (jer. 17:9)
there is nothing good there with which to turn to Him
not even the desire or the strength to turn to Him and His word

if there is a longing after Him
if there is a passion, no matter how weak, to know Him
if there is a desire for His glory
if there is a hunger and thirst to be like Him

this is solely the result of His enlarging my heart
to desire the heavenly
to conquer the flesh
to contain the things He longs to reveal to me

i cannot work this in my own heart
no matter how i try
no matter how much of a martyr i make of myself

i am nothing
my heart is nothing
my attempts are nothing

apart from Him
apart from His regenerating work
apart from His placing in me that desire i crave
apart from His working in me that heart after Him

oh God, enlarge my heart!

"i will run in the way of your commandments when You enlarge my heart."
psalm 119:32

this testimony is His just due

so i've posted this before on fb, but read it again today and was so blessed that i want to post it again here. :)

He has done all things well.”— Mark 7:37 

yes, from first to last, from our cradle to our grave, from the earliest pang of sin’s conviction to the last thrill of sin’s forgiveness, from earth to heaven; this will be our testimony in all the way the Lord our God has led us in the wilderness: “He has done all things well.”

in providence and in grace,

in every truth of His Word,

in every lesson of His love,

in every stroke of His rod,

in every sunbeam that has shone,

in every cloud that has shaded,

in every element that has sweetened,

in every ingredient that has embittered,

in all that has been mysterious, inscrutable, painful, and humiliating;

in all that He gave, and all that He took away,

—this testimony is His just due, and this our grateful acknowledgment through time and through eternity:

“He has done all things well.”

has He converted us through grace by a way we had thought the most improbable?

has He torn up all our earthly hopes by the roots?

has He thwarted our schemes, frustrated our plans, disappointed our expectations?

has He taught us in schools most trying, by a discipline most severe, and lessons most humbling to our nature?

has He withered our strength by sickness, reduced us to poverty by loss, crushed our heart by bereavement?

and have we been tempted to exclaim, “all these things are against me?” ah! no! faith will yet obtain the ascendancy, and sweetly sing:

“i know in all things that befell, My Jesus has done all things well.”

beloved, it must be so, for Jesus can do nothing wrong. study the way of His providence and grace with the microscopic eye of faith, view them in every light, examine them in their minutest detail, as you would the petal of a flower, or the wing of an insect; and, oh, what wonders, what beauty, what marvellous adaptation would you observe in all the varied dealings with you of your glorious Lord!

Iill sing of Jesus crucified,

the Lamb of God who bled and died,

a healing balm, a crimson tide,

flowed from His head, His feet, His side!

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

He sought me in the wilderness,

and found me there in deep distress;

He changed and washed this heart of mine,

and filled me with His love Divine!

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

for what the Lord has done for me,

for boundless grace so rich and free,

for all His mercies that are past,

i’ll praise Him while my life shall last!

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

when sorrow’s waves around me roll,

His promises my mind console;

when earth and hell my soul assail,

His grace and mercy never fail.

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

when death shall steal upon my frame,

to damp and quench the vital flame,

i’ll look into my Savior’s breast,

and there recline and sweetly rest.

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

and when we join the ransomed throng,

to chant the sweet immortal song,

with tuneful heart, and voice, and tongue,

we’ll roll the lofty note along!

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

to Him who washed us in His blood,

and made us kings and priests to God;

hosanna we will ever sing,

and make the heavenly arches ring!

above the rest this note shall swell,

‘my Jesus has done all things well.’

“He has done all things well.” – Mark 7:37

—adapted from Octavius Winslow‘s, “The Sigh of Christ”

the works of His hands

“for you, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work;
   at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.”

psalm 92:4

today as i read thru the psalms this verse screamed out at me to stop. it screamed out because of all the times i have read that verse and wondered what there was about the works of God to make me glad. not that He doesn’t do great things, but sometimes from my perspective it looks as tho His works give me only cause to grieve. today, tho, as soon as my eyes landed on the page i knew that i have much to praise Him for. and for the first time in many months i realized that His works truly have made me glad in Him, rather than just knowing i need to be glad and trying to make myself glad.

but as i contemplated longer, i knew something else. it is indeed ALL of His works, coming together in His sovereign time and for His immaculate purpose, that have made me glad. even the ones i felt at the time to be harsh and unjust. my mind skipped over to Hebrews chapter 12 and i read these verses…

 “…have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

 ‘my son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.’…it is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?...He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it...”

hebrews 12:4-11

“for the moment all discipline seems painful…”

yes, it does. it seems at times that we have a cruel Father, not concerned in the least for our happiness.

but it is “that we may share His holiness.”

wow. it is those He loves, those He looks on as precious children, those He wishes to see made like Himself, who feel the sting of His painful, chastising works.

but in the end, it is all “for our good.”  

the joyous and the painful.

and today it is about ALL the works of His hands that I sing for joy.

“and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

romans 8:28