You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek You; I thirst for You, my whole being longs for You, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name, I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips, my mouth will praise You. On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me. [Psalm 63:1-8]
Since I have been justified, uplifted, tested, tried, and put through the fire of faith, I now have peace because of God through Jesus, whom I have gained access to by my tested and growing faith into this grace in which I now firmly, confidently and boldly stand. I can boast, proclaim, trust and know the hope of the glory of God. I am learning, and trying to understand how to glory in my sufferings because I am beginning to comprehend that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, taking one step forward at a time, produces character; character, or my personal identity of trustworthiness, produces hope. This hope will not put me to shame, will not cause my defeat but rather give me the iron will I need to continue from day to day in this defeated, broken, sinful dark world, because God’s love has been poured into my heart through the anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit, who has been sent to us to comfort, lead, teach wisdom and emboldened us to do what is right before God. I now see, with spiritual eyes, that at just the right time, when I am at my weakest, lowest, most vulnerable place, Christ died for the ungodly which includes my selfish, sinful being before accepting His Salvation. I am learning the importance of knowing that while we were all sinners, especially me, Christ died for us and again, especially for me. Because of the death and resurrection of Christ as the ultimate sacrifice and beginning of the offer of the gift of salvation I can now be justified through His blood and be covered so that I do not fear or succumb to the wrath of God for the destruction of sin to His creation and purpose. Now I can stand firmly and proclaim that I am God’s child because of this reconciliation that came through Christ for all of us as long as we accept the gift of His salvation, mercy, and grace. [Romans 5:1-11]
I now constantly pray for all of you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. I pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And we should all pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect each of us from the evil one. I have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things He commands. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance…. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Amen. [2 Thessalonians 1:11&12; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, 16]