How long, O Lord?

Father,

How long? You know this is the question throbbing in my heart. You know my earnest ache is that Jesus will return and make all things new. You know that from my perspective things are continuing to get worse, to unwind and to drift away from you and your Word.

How long will passages like Mt 24 be future promises? How long will the groaning of Rom 8 resonate in the depth of our souls? How long will hope of 1 Cor 15 seem just beyond our grasp?

O Father I thank you for the grace that you have given me in Christ. There is nothing in me the deserved salvation and there is nothing I can or could do to pay you back. I thank you that your grace is freely available to all and that your delay, while not full understandable to me, opens the door to more to hear the gospel.

Father, I also thank you for the gift of your Spirit. Without him, neither I nor any of your saints could stand for a single hour against our own sin or against the whiles of your enemy and ours, Satan. Without the Spirit, we could not even begin to grasp your Word or begin to see you for who you really are. He shows us the height and the length and breadth and the depth of your love. He encourages us to remember that you care for us better than any human father or mother. He convicts us when our thoughts and actions lead us away from you. And He challenges us to hold on to the faith we have received from you by grace. The road is long. The path is narrow. But our companion is faithful and true.

Father, most of all, if I dare say it that way, I am grateful for your Son. My whole life hangs on him. Without his birth, life, death, and resurrection, my life would be an empty shell. So I praise you! I thank you. I adore you for your majestic plan of redemption. Christ was born. Oh are wonder and splendor of the Creator in a cattle trough! The sovereign one needing care and protection! Eternity entering time! Jesus lived some 30 odd years. Oh that the one that fashioned the universe made tables and chairs! The amazingness that the sinless one would have to face sin everyday. The reality that the King of kings would walk among his subjects and not be recognized, respected, honored or worshiped. And he died. There are books that can't even capture the magnitude of those words. Allow them to wash over me again today. He died for me. He didn't just die generically. He didn't just die symbolically. He died specifically for me. To pay my sin debt. To redeem me from the curse I inherited from Adam. To adopt me into your family. And now he is risen and ascended. He is reigning and ruling with you. He is interceding for me. He preparing a place for his bride. And so much more.

Father, dare I ask that Jesus return today? You know that is what is on my heart. Yet, I want your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, Father by your grace, in your mercy, do what you will. And help me, by the power of your Spirit to see it as your perfect gift and plan.

I pray this in the name of your Son, my only Savior, Redeemer and King.

Amen