I could not love Thee,
so blind and unfeeling;
Covenant promises
fell not to me.
Then without warning,
desire, or deserving,
I found my Treasure,
my pleasure, in Thee.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (1923)
By: Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960)
Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.
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Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We continue our journey through this popular hymn which declares the faithfulness of our God, true in every season, experienced by hearts of faith. Let’s think about this.
God Took Initiative
The last half of this stanza reminds me of the words of a song I learned several years ago.
You did not wait for me to draw near to You
but You clothed yourself with frail humanity
You did not wait for me to cry out to You
but You let me hear Your voice calling me “Forever Grateful” by Mark Altrogge
It expresses in a very descriptive way the incredible reality that God took the initiative to deal with our separation from Him. Before we could even become aware of our need for a Savior, and certainly long before we even cared, Jesus made the way for us to have a restored relationship to the Father. We did not deserve it, or even desire it, yet without warning God stepped into time and space and changed everything.
Then without warning,
desire, or deserving,
For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 ESV
He shed His blood on the cross and established a new covenant for all those who place their trust in Him. They placed the crown of thorns on His head and nailed Him to the tree, but only so that He could accomplish redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Every single one of us was in the same hopeless position until His cross.
RESONATE!
Ponder that for a few moments. Before you desired redemption, before you could have attempted to earn it, even before you realized you eve n needed it, He provided. He took the initiative in redemption. Think about that, and then take a few moments to express Your gratitude to Jesus for His initiative.
I Humbly Responded
After purchasing our redemption on the cross, Jesus then revealed it to us, and gave us the faith to respond. How kind! The chorus of “Forever Grateful” delineates the only appropriate response to what Jesus did for us.
And I’m forever grateful, Lord, to You.
And I’m forever grateful for the cross.
And I’m forever grateful to You
That You came to seek and save the lost.
Eternal gratitude. That’s it. Finding in Christ an unspeakable Treasure, and joys forevermore.
I found my Treasure,
my pleasure, in Thee.
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:4 ESV
Not only can we now draw near but we are changed at our very core to be characterized by the nature of God. That allows us to escape the corruption that plagues the world due to sinful desire. What an incredible promise! Oh for the grace to live it out today and every day for the rest of eternity!
He has become our Treasure and our pleasure. How? Simply by inviting us into His life through His death and resurrection. Are you pursuing a soul-satisfying relationship with Jesus or are other things distracting You?
RESONATE!
Is it easy to become distracted by things that are lessor treasures than knowing Jesus and living for Him. Ask Him today to help you see Him for the Treasure He is. That is the beginning. Then follow it up by asking Him to help you live it out today.
Father, thank You for expressing Your faithfulness by initiating redemption. How kind of You to do that. Give me the faith every day to respond in a way that brings glory to Your name and reveals Your faithfulness through me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Grateful Thinking!
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Podcast 23.3 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
I could not love Thee,
so blind and unfeeling;
As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. Romans 3:10-11 ESV
It is both painful and needful to acknowledge this reality. We were blind and cold toward God, so was our disposition in sin. We could not love Him, nor did we care to. We must acknowledge this in order to receive by grace His faithfulness to us. Have you done so?
Covenant promises
fell not to me.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 ESV
Our sin had separated us from God and accordingly all the promises that He offers to those who believe and place their faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of His Son. You too were once outside of this covenant, outside of His glory. Thank Him for revealing that to you.
Then without warning,
desire, or deserving,
For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 ESV
Without warning, before we could even desire it, and absolutely before we could even begin to ponder what to do to deserve it, God poured out the blood of Christ to make forgiveness of sin available. Praise His name for making a way for us to draw near before we even tried.
I found my Treasure,
my pleasure, in Thee.
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:4 ESV
Not only can we now draw near but we are changed at our very core to be characterized by the nature of God. That allows us to escape the corruption that plagues the world due to sinful desire. What an incredible promise! Ask Him to help you live it out today.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more, with the refrain.
I could not love Thee,
so blind and unfeeling;
Covenant promises
fell not to me.
Then without warning,
desire, or deserving,
I found my Treasure,
my pleasure, in Thee.
Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post How Are You Responding to God’s Faithfulness? appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Then Without Warning, Desire or Deserving – https://pixabay.com/photos/thorn-crown-nails-jesus-christ-4265860/
I Found My Treasure, My Pleasure in Thee – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-christ-god-gospel-bible-3279880/
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