I Surrender

Shake my world and break me,
Humble me with Your mercies.
In You I want my hope to be,
Your truth desperately I seize.

I’m laying down my pride.
I’m letting go my guilt.
Time and again I’ve tried.
May persistence in me be built.

Fill me with compassion,
To see the world the way You do.
On You I focus my attention,
I want to live for You.

I’m giving You my life,

So Spirit take control.
Without You I find strife,
Only You can make me whole.

Break me down and build me in Your nature,
So that I will find myself in Your perfect rapture.
Mold in me a heart that beats in time with Yours,
So that out of it I find Your mercy pours.

Refine and realign me,
Come and set me free.
That every step I make,
Every breath I take,
For You alone alone would be.

Help me make a stand,
LORD I surrender.
I fix my gaze on You,
Let nothing hinder.

Anything not of You,
LORD tear it apart.
And move my feet to dance,
To the rhythm of Your heart.

Christ's Suffering

Christ, having lived a faultless life, died alone, naked, forsaken by his own father. He faced deceit, rejection, and betrayal by the ones who claimed to love him. He was beaten, tormented, and ridiculed by the very people he came to save. If we are called to be like Christ, should we not expect to share in these same afflictions? It is only through experiencing suffering that we can even begin to comprehend the fullness of the glory and grace of God that were revealed through Christ’s death on the cross. But once the price had been paid, God, being above all and merciful in nature, brought him back out of bondage and gloriously rose him up out of the pit, and placed him on a rock. In this same way, once we have truly died to ourselves, his grace will be made complete in us. And he will gloriously raise us up from that same pit of brokenness, despair, and depravity, placing us on the solid rock of truth that cannot be shaken. That we might not continue to live our own lives, but that Christ would continue to live his life through us.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:18

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that, you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 5:10-11