Praise the Lord, my soul! Adore Abba with all your mind, heart, and body—as you steadfastly rehearse every benefit he has and will give you in Jesus. Psalm103:1-2ish
Heavenly Father being grateful isn’t the same thing as feeling grateful (Hallelujah!). Nothing/No one has to change in our lives for us to adore and trust you. The riches of the Gospel transcend our circumstances, but also meet us there.
So whether we are in Daniel’s den of lions, in Jonah’s sea-and-seaweed mess (Jonah 2:5), burned-out like Elijah (1Kings19), deeply sad like David (Psalm 6), confused about your ways like Habakkuk (Hab.1:1-11) stuck in an elder-son pity-party (Lk.15:25-32), angry like Martha (Lk.10:40-42), shamed like Peter (Jn.18:15-27), or despairing like Paul (2Cor.1:8-9) we choose to remember these things today, for we are more “in Christ” than we are in anything else.
Huge Hallelujahs .. we are hidden in Christ, clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, and rooted in your love. Today, tomorrow, and forever—we are objects of your affection, the focus of Jesus’ prayers, and kept by the Spirit’s power. Nothing can separate us from your love, snatch us from Jesus’ hand, or keep us from heaven.
With a roof over our head, a place in your Story, and death as “gain,” we really don’t have to stay stuck in worry-and-whine or blame-and-shame. Thank you for friends with whom we get to feast on grace-manna, consume apple fritters, eat grilled steak or veggie-burgers, and savor bread with and without gluten—wheat, spelt, oat, or almond flour. Friends who linger long, lament deep, love well, and laugh loud.
Abba, our future 1000% rocks… No tears will be left unwiped, no relationships left unhealed… nothing, absolutely nothing will be less than perfect and beautiful. We will see Jesus as he is, and we will be made like him (1 Jn.3:1-3)—Big Boom and microphone drop, and So Very Amen.