What I Thank God for Most

God lives and works today, and the happiest people in the world are those who know that God is alive, not just from outward evidence, but who have experienced His reality in the depths of their hearts. Today's meditation is the testimony of someone who lost and rediscovered the reality of God. Looking back over my life, it seems very wonderful to me that the Lord used the destruction of our city by an air attack in 1944 to touch my heart anew.

Very softly and gradually, the first love for Jesus began to blossom again. As Jesus drew near to me anew, something happened. During my youth I had also experienced this, but at that time it was more of a head knowledge than a heart knowledge.

I came to know our Lord Jesus as the man of sorrows. Now I not only know about His suffering today, but I can bear it as a wound in my heart. The fact that there are musicals like Superstar and Godspell and others which ridicule Jesus brings my heart to tears.

And the fact that I can cry about this is a great blessing for me. Thus the Lord has given me a test to show me that I do love Him, that I can suffer with Him. I realize with my intellect that probably all Christians will be persecuted tomorrow in one way or another.

But I realize even more deeply that Jesus, our head, is being persecuted today. And that is much more painful than when we, the members of His body, are persecuted. Because of our sin, we deserve to suffer and to be chastened.

But what wrong has God done? Our Lord Jesus Christ loved the world so much that He gave His life for it. And the Father continues to sustain the world in spite of its sin. Nevertheless, they are so hated.

This indeed is worth shedding tears over. And how much it must hurt Him if we Christians do not realize that He is being despised and ridiculed. Yes, if we even pretend that this is just a different way of proclaiming the Gospel.

I am truly grateful that the Lord has laid His suffering on my heart and let me suffer a little bit with Him. What amazing grace! Jesus forgives our sins so completely that we are inspired with love for Him so that we want to share and carry His sufferings today in our hearts. My fervent wish for all of us is that if the Lord wants to lead us into suffering tomorrow, we will follow Him in complete dedication of love.

Jesus, Lord, to love you only, I shall live for that alone. To your heart some comfort bringing, all your suffering making known. Not I care now for my troubles, since I've seen your pain and loss, but endeavor to console you, willingly take up my cross.

May my heart now burn within me for your grief and agony, leading then to heed your suffering and your comforters to be. You have been listening to a program written by Basilée Schlink of the Little Land of Canaan. To learn more about how God lives and works today, visit us at our website www.canaan.org. That's K-A-N-A-A-N dot org.

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