The Greatest Gift

Philippians 3:10-11 — I want to know Christ - yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Is suffering not,

the greatest gift You have given me, Lord?

Has it not led me to Your feet,

led me to my knees?

Has this pain not brought me to Your courts,

this grief not brought me to the cross?

Have my scars not made me,

like Your Son?

Will I not show You these wounds one day,

rejoicing in how You used them,

to redeem my life?

Have these afflictions not revealed to me,

my total need for You,

my absolute reliance on Your word?

Has this labor not humbled me,

bringing me wonderfully low,

meekly to Your throne of grace?

You, O my God,

took the chains that bound me,

the path that was leading me to death,

and rescued me.

O, how I never want to escape this pain,

if it means I will be taken from You.

Sustain me, Lord,

give me the strength to live;

but give me nothing -

no matter how wonderful it may seem -

if it could separate me from Your presence.

Amen.