Most Kind and Gentle Lord, while I go about each day dealing with earthly things, You chose to leave the comfort of Your heavenly home in order to come down to earth to offer Yourself as a sacrifice for me. You came to give me a message of hope and salvation … something I desperately needed. While I often get caught up in myself and my earthly problems, You came to offer me help by giving unselfishly of Yourself. While I focused on earthly things, You saw my spiritual need and came to fill it. While I struggled with mortgage payments, utilities and food, You saw I had a bigger need … so You brought me the gift of salvation and eternal life. I now recognize that the Body and Blood You offer is the “true food” that meets my most urgent need. The hunger and thirst I should devote myself to is doing the will of our Father. I no longer must strive for my will to be done … but Yours.
In Your Word, You explain that Your Kingdom is not composed of just eating and drinking, but searching for righteousness, peace and joy. What these words say to me is that while these natural functions are important to our human survival, there are more important spiritual things (like righteous living, finding peace in my everyday turmoil and, through hope in You, experiencing a deep and lasting joy) that I must devote myself to. The righteousness You call me to provides a sound foundation upon which I can build my life. The peace You offer is better than anything I can imagine and calms my life in the middle of whatever storms I find myself. The joy You offer overcomes the stress and worry that try to infiltrate my thinking. In a relationship with You, I am able to be triumphant over whatever circumstances that might come to disturb my well-being.
I should never lose sight of the fact that in whatever hardship I find myself or whatever sacrifice I am asked to make, they pale in the light of the ones You had to make for me. How caring and unselfish You were to sacrifice so much. How obedient You were to the wishes of Your Heavenly Father. How selfless You were to give Yourself as payment for my sins and provide eternal life. Your death and resurrection has allowed me to walk in freedom from the influences of sin and evil. I am beginning to realize that, like You, I’ve been sent to earth with a mission and a purpose. It’s my job to find what it is. I see now that as I get lower, I’m allowing You to lift me higher. As I’m diminished, You become exalted. You mean the world to me and I should be willing to die to self so that You can live fully in me. I live to lift You up for all the world to see. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.