Weight is Heavy, Knees are Weak

Nighttime

Weight is heavy, knees are weak
Work day and night, wallet springs a leak
Two steps forward, 3 steps back
Makes one wonder, "am I on the right track?"

Is this the way, it's gonna be?
Will we once again, ever run free?
Life is hard and then you die
Need is great, where's the supply?

Cattle on hills, a picture tells
Current existence, kind of smells
Life as we know it, looking bleak
Weight is heavy, knees are weak 

Ever wonder where God is taking you? Ever wonder if you really are doing what He has intended for you to do and if this is what He "best" is for you then why does it seems so futile? 

Do you sometimes feel that you are in a limbo contest and God is holding the stick and you believe you have just passed under the lowest possible measure and then you see the stick go down another notch?

"When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."

Singing this song has previously been easy and then I am realizing that the fire, the same one that I have said "God controls the degree and duration of the flame", is still fire and the gold is not excited about being in the fire and the flame is doing its job, but when will the fire subside?

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;" 

Ever read these verses and wonder how much closer one can get to the edge without falling over?

Morning
I'll leave you with this from Tim Challies "Crushing Weight of Glory"

"Christian, do you know that morning is coming? Do you believe it? 
In all the pain and weariness and suffering and trauma, in a world of so many trials, it is so easy to be full of despair and to give up. Paul himself was sometimes close to giving up. When he wrote the church at Corinth he spoke of a time where he experienced some kind of trial in Asia. He wrote, 'We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. We felt that we had received the sentence of death.' He was fragile. He was afflicted, he was perplexed, he was persecuted and he was struck down. But hold on.
 
Why? Because he trusted in what Christ had done and he kept his gaze fixed on what Christ had promised to do. Even the heaviest blow would some day be deemed a light and momentary affliction when he experienced the crushing weight of God’s glory in the presence of God. He had no greater hope than that. You and I have no greater hope than that. Hold on to that hope, hold on to God who gives you that hope, and you will endure." 

One, to Be and See His Glory

John 17:20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 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. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,23 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. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

As I read these verses my heart is full that Jesus would be praying these words for us; His Bride in the future.

He knew that in moments His betrayal would move to full swing and He also knew where all this would lead His disciples. He knew much better than they what was about to take place and His shepherd's heart is on display.

You can feel His compassion for His sheep as He says "Father", "given me", "perfectly one" and again "O righteous Father". His desire is that His sheep will know the Father as He knows the Father and He knows this will happen through His word and through the unity that the Spirit will bring to His people. 

Imagine leaving your kids and grandkids for the last time- what words would you use? Jesus' desire was for the reunion to take place so that His sheep could see the glory that His Father had given Him. 

He knows how good it's going to be in Heaven and He is excited for ALL those whom the Father has given Him to be there with Him forever. 

the unity that we have as believers is one of the things that the Spirit uses to bring others to Christ and Jesus knows this; He's praying to the Father that each one of us would know this and desire to have unity with the Body. This is important enough that it's some of the last words we hear Jesus say before He goes to the cross.

Read the short paragraph again with the understanding of how close the cross is and with the idea that it's you leaving those you love. 

God placed us in this exact spot for a purpose and a major part of that purpose is to show the world we are one.