Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Be Thou My Vision (6th century)
By: Saint Dallán Forgaill (c. 560 – 640)

Listen to this modern version of this ancient hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics.

Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

Here is podcast content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

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.

As we continue our journey through this ancient text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s think about this.

First

Early in my relationship with God I learned the verse below and it has since become to me a significant scripture throughout my journey. Some might call it a Life Verse, one that governs much of my thinking about my Lord, and His activity in my life. Even so, I often fail to live up to the highest expressions of it, though it remains my aspiration to do so.

Putting God first in all things and keeping Him there are both lofty aspirations as well. To do so will create some conflict internally and externally, but will ensure that you will always be able to find your path forward, even if not initially. Trust requires that we believe God is at work even when we do not see it, making a way where there seems to be none.

I am not certain it will still be sung hundreds of years from now but a song of our day expresses well the kind of faith necessary to put and keep God first. Way Maker by Leeland says,

Even when I don’t see it, You’re working
Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working
You never stop, You never stop working

I think of those who first sang these words, and those who first sang the ones below and marvel that across time and space the same God revealed Himself to song writers who found words for their contemporaries to express in worship. We join when them as we sing…

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

It is so easy to lean on other things and not fully trust the Lord. Working to acknowledge Him in all our ways is a good antidote though. When we are convinced He is our Inheritance, as the previous line declares, we find it much easier to put Him and Him alone first in our heart. We love others to be sure, but none so much as Him. 

 

RESONATE!
Do you know what it looks like to put Him first in your heart? Ask Jesus to show you today. “Jesus, show me the way to make you first today.” What are a couple ways you are feeling inclined to make God first in your heart? What will you do about that prompting today?

High King

Sometimes I look into the heavens and marvel at the fact that the One who made them not only cares for me, but wants me to see Him as the treasure that He is. He reveals Himself to me as such in those moments, but I all too quickly forget. How about you?

I was running some errands just last night and walked out to my vehicle to see a sunset which literally took my breath away. It was one of a thousand I have seen that revealed to me the creative wonder of the Lord God. Each of them a form of riches I should treasure more than anything this earth affords.

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, Nehemiah 1:5 ESV

This is the opening of Nehemiah’s prayer after days of mourning, fasting and praying. It was not a quick and easy acclamation but one he was still determined to make. Are you so resolved?

We set out on this journey believing He is our Treasure, but the further we go the more we realize just how true that is. Wherever you are on that journey, ask your King to take you higher into the knowledge of what Treasure He truly is, now and forevermore.

High King of Heaven, lift me to a greater knowledge of You.

RESONATE!
Take a moment and allow the Lord to search your heart to reveal if He is your treasure.  If He reveals any competitors, renounce them and place Him first in your heart. Then ask Him to help you see the Treasure He truly is and to cherish Him rightly.

Lord God of heaven, thank You for revealing the great and awesome works of creation. I long to live ever in awe of the Treasure You are. Forgive me for the many times I have failed to do so. I am grateful You are calling me back to practicing that priority. In Jesus name. Amen.

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Image Attribution
Thou and Thou Only First in My Heart – https://pixabay.com/vectors/first-aid-medical-medicine-doctor-2789561/
High King of Heaven My Treasure Thou Art – https://pixabay.com/photos/tree-field-calm-tranquil-scene-736875/

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tow’r:
Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.

Be Thou My Vision (6th century)
By: Saint Dallán Forgaill (c. 560 – 640)

Listen to this modern version of this ancient hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics.

Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

Here is podcast content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

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.

As we continue our journey through this ancient text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s think about this.

Light

What darkness is threatening you today?

Darkness can make us feel isolated and afraid. We can not see which way to go or the dangers around us. It can be paralyzing and terrifying. But…

…if you can identify even the smallest glimmer of light everything changes. You begin to move toward the light, slowly at first and then with increased speed as things become brighter and clearer until finally you are running to the light.

You find rest and comfort. Your fears are dispelled. You can move around in freedom.

God’s presence is such a light, shelter and tower.

Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tow’r:

…The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 ESV

The mingling of peace and protection in God’s living presence is so beautifully portrayed in this stanza, and particularly this line. He cares for our souls. He also cares for our bodies. When you feel threatened you should run to Him.

His presence also provides Shelter for our souls and a Tower of protection for our lives. And we need those things because there are forces which come against us, but…

…God is for us and with us as we face them.

The darkness has little sway over us when we run to the light of our Lord. Run to Him today. The One who wants to be your Shelter and Tower.

RESONATE!
Ask Him to be your Shelter and Tower. Pray “God, be my Shelter and Tower.” Thank Him in advance for giving your soul shelter and for being your stronghold when your body is threatened. 

Strength

So did you do it? Did you ask God to be your Shelter and Tower? Asking for help can make us feel small, and so can looking up. But it does not have to, or at least that does not have to be your last feeling.

When we look heavenward, eyes of faith help us to see that there is more to this life than what we can see with our eyes. In Psalm 8, the writer asks the question when gazing up, “What is man that you are mindful of Him?” before He answers His own question. God has made us a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor.

So, don’t hesitate looking up. And when you are left gazing in awe at what you see, speak to the One who made it all. Ask Him to lift you into His presence, to a plane of greater awareness, and power.

Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.

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 73:25-26 ESV

God is everything we need for this life and the next. Nothing on earth can satisfy like Him, and even our bodies fail us, but He is the Power.

His presence is the real Power behind everything we do. Even when your power fails you, His will not. His is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and ultimately will raise us heavenward to His glorious presence.

RESONATE!
Declare your trust in Jesus to raise you heavenward. Spirit, thank You for being the real Power in my life. Thank the Holy Spirit for being that Power from on high, for today and the day when you rise.

Lord, thank You for revealing to me your desire to be my Shelter and Tower. You have raised my hope to a plane I did not know before I knew you, and yet I know there is so much more I have yet to grasp. Raise my awareness of Your presence, until your raise me into it. In Jesus name. Amen.

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Image Attribution
Thou My Soul’s Shelter, Thou My High Tower – https://pixabay.com/photos/lighthouse-sea-sunset-tower-sun-2372004/
Raise Thou Me Heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r – https://pixabay.com/photos/milky-way-universe-person-stars-1023340/

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou My Vision (6th century)
By: Saint Dallán Forgaill (c. 560 – 640)

Listen to this modern version of this ancient hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics.

Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

Here is podcast content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

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.

As we continue our journey through this ancient text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s think about this.

Presence

His Wisdom comes from His words. His presence creates the atmosphere where I can hear them and live them. These are gifts from our Father. Showing our gratitude for them through our attitude demonstrates we are actually His children.

This entire stanza is really about presence, not His presents to us. His presence is what makes the difference in every circumstance. Our awareness of it changes our perspective and our response.

When we realize how wonderful a Father God is, it makes sense to want to be His child. Jesus said the right to be God’s child rests in whether we believe in Him, God’s Son. While it takes faith to do that, it seems silly not to when you consider the benefits of the decision.

But here’s the rub. What difference does His presence really make? His presence in us shows the world that He actually came. This is how we show the world we are His “true” children. Jesus prayed for that difference to be seen in us.

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:21 ESV

Our living out our connection with God is one of the ways the world believes in Jesus. Our unity with other believers becomes a picture of the connection of Jesus and His Father. Learning to live in unity with other believers is not easy, but is essential for us to have unity with God.

Think of it another way. Like Father, like son. We want to be like God. This happens as we imitate and emulate His ways. In order to do that we must know Him and His ways. One of those ways is unity. Ask the Spirit to reveal the ways of God, and empower you to walk in them, thus demonstrating you are God’s child.

Spirit, help me to imitate God’s ways.

RESONATE!
Ask yourself this question, or better yet ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the answer to you. How well is your unity with other believers showing that God is your Father? Maybe you have some work to do, or maybe the Spirit does. Open yourself to His work of making you a child of God by learning to walk in unity.

One

Surrender. That is what comes to mind when I think of God dwelling in me and being one with Him. This image is a powerful illustration of that.

When we decide we are going to hold on to God with everything we are we realize there is really no need to hold onto anything else. That little hand could not hold anything else if it wanted to, but it does not need to because the big hand can. The same is true with our relationship with God.

It is not just about unity, but love.

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. John 17:23 ESV

When our lives welcome the presence of God, we become one with Him and each other, just like Jesus and the Father are one. God dwelling in us is both a miracle and a promise. It is also proof that God sent Jesus because He loves us.

God makes His dwelling in us in ever-increasing measure as we open our lives to His influence. Have you invited the Lord to come and have His way in you recently? When you do He does, and He aligns your life to His purposes. Commit to welcoming Him regularly.

RESONATE!
Welcome Him to dwell in you again today. His presence with you will convince you of His love. Convinced of His love you can live out your faith in a way that will convince the world of the same, starting with other believers.

Father, thank You for showing Your love to me in Jesus Christ. Help me to take your hand and trust You to lead me to a place of unity with You and others, so the world may know Your love. In Jesus name. Amen.

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Image Attribution
Thou My Great Father, I Thy True Son – https://pixabay.com/photos/silhouette-father-and-son-sundown-1082129/
Thou in Me Dwelling, and I With Thee One – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-child-s-hand-hold-tight-1797401/

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning
New mercies I see
All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me

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.

Here is podcast content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

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 conclude 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.

From God

How much better off would we be if we would look to God’s hand more often and trust His provision? On a day that will long live in the memories of a nation that desperately needs some peace I would offer we will only find it as we each look to His hand, and then work to become expressions of the same. Lord have mercy on us!

That hand.

It reminds me that God is a person. A person with a body. A body which bears scars that make available everything I need.

He is my portion and my provision. He is everything I need. He provides everything I need.

What do you need today? Think of it personally. There are likely things no one else knows you need, and even things you do not know you need. How personal is that? God wants to and does provide everything you need, even the things you do not even realize you need.

All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:24 ESV

When we look to the Lord as our portion we find that He provides everything we need. We often realize this only after striving too long to attempt to provide for ourselves. Determine today to look to the Lord and find your hope squarely in Him and His complete provision for you.

There are many things we want and God does not provide all those. There are far fewer things we need and He does provide every one of those, which is and of itself a demonstration of His great faithfulness. Thank Him for providing all we need, and then some.

 

RESONATE!
As you determine to look to the Lord, how will you practice that? How will you find your hope in Him? It really is a determination that is aided by discipline. When you realize you need something, ask Him how to trust Him to provide even as you do your part. This working and waiting balance is essential to the life of faith. Part of that working is thanking Him in advance for how He has provided before and will provide in the future. Thank Him for providing all you need.

To Me

His hand is reaching out to provide for me, and I must open my hand to receive it. There is a mutual willingness on each end to do their part. God is certainly will to provide, but we must be willing to receive.

How has God positioned you to be ready to receive today? Make no mistake if you are reading this He has orchestrated some circumstance to give you the opportunity to trust His provision, and even be overwhelmed by His personal provision for you.

He wants to give you the opportunity to say and sing this final line, but creating that willingness and awareness may rove a bit uncomfortable. Even still, it will be worth it. Often our most valuable lessons feel costly at the time, but looking back are worth every bit of anguish they illicit. Trust that God is giving you a testimony of His faithfulness, and open your hand to receive it. I know I am.

Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25 ESV

Waiting. It is never easy. Seeking the Lord can be arduous endeavor as well, but oh the goodness that is ready to be unleashed on the soul who does.

His faithfulness is personal. He not only does all these remarkable things for the souls of all who look to Him, but He does so in unique ways for each one.

RESONATE!
Think of specific ways He has been faithful to you, some of which not one other person may even know. Trust that He will continue to be faithful. Decide today that every day in 2021 will be marked in some way by your soul actively seeking and waiting on God.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to me. Help me open my heart and my hands to receive all you have in store for me. I will gladly earn the right to declare Your personal provision for me. In Jesus name. Amen.

Are these thoughts helping you to develop greater spiritual awareness?  Sign-up in the form to the right above to get updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Image Attribution
All I Have Needed Thy Hand Hath Provided – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-christ-hand-resurrection-4676641/
Great Is Thy Faithfuness Lord Unto Me – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-hand-together-prayer-5216585/