The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Getting rid of all my small ambitions

to make this one thing the hallmark of my life.

To please God.

To give Him pleasure by living on the edge of faith,

by risking everything on His promises

and trusting all things,

even life itself, to His providence and care.

To count on His protection

and to pay the price for letting God be God

whether I get what I pray for or not,

whether my circumstances change or not,

whether I am healed or not

and to consider every sacrifice a small price to pay

to obtain the pearl of great price.

His pleasure.

I do not seek the blessings of God

or the benefits of His promises.

I do not seek the hand of God but rather His face.

I want to hear Him say, “Well, done.”

I want to see Him smile

when He sees my feeble efforts

emboldened by a strong desire to please Him.

I would rather make mistakes,

I would rather fail

trying to please God

than succeed at anything else in life.

I want to be a beloved child of God

for no other reason than

because I was created for that very purpose

and that thrills me

to the core of my being.

It is His pleasure – His joy – that is my strength.

That is power enough for any life.

That is what makes my life significant.

I was created for His pleasure.

*****