May this be the cry of our hearts

When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
  I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.


Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
  You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
  Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
  My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
 (Psalm 73:21-26 ESV)


This psalm is one that I constantly return to remind myself of my standing before the Lord. Whenever I fall into sin and self-righteousness, I TRY to crawl back to this psalm and the truth it speaks to my heart.

Out of my own fallen nature, I constantly fall back into sin, causing my Heavenly Father displeasure. BUT nevertheless, God keeps me in His hand and lifts me out of the dirt, cleansing me from my sin and disobedience (v. 23, 24a, 1 John 1:9), until eventually, after sanctifying me through His beautiful gospel (1 Corinthians 15:2), He will glorify me into His awesome, indescribable presence for the rest of eternity (v. 24b).

The Lord is faithful beyond words in the ENTIRE process of redemption and salvation. Our hearts regeneration, the faith and repentance needed, the legal justification, righteousness, sanctification and glorification all belong to the Lord and are splendid gifts to us; an unworthy and helpless people in the hands of a powerful and merciful God.

May we acknowledge the inadequacy of our own flesh and hearts and simply run into the hands of our loving Saviour, who offers rest to all who realise they can no longer run the race by themselves (Matthew 11:28-30).