Day 17 - My Desire (Jeremy Camp)
“This is my desire, this is my return. This is my desire, to be used by you – to lay it all down before the King.”
To be in the service of the King. What does that mean exactly?
I’m thinking of a scene from the ‘Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy where a young hobbit by the name of Pippen places himself in the service of Denethor, Steward of the throne of Gondor. By placing himself in service to the throne, his life is forfeit. His life no longer belongs to himself, but to the throne and the kingdom of Gondor. Pippen is to give his life, if required, in service.
Another word for forfeit is relinquish. To hand over, yield or abdicate your life in the service of another. To let go of your plans for the plans of the King.
I appreciate what the apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia.
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 (NLT)
It is no longer Paul who lives, but Jesus living in him. Paul is basically saying that his life is no longer his but now belongs to Jesus (The King). Paul is in the service of the kingdom of God now. To be used by God and for kingdom purposes.
Even King David placed himself under the lordship of God and desired to do His will.
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!” – Psalm 143:10
In many ways, King David was just a steward of the nation of Israel. God was the true King.
Do we have the same desire as both Paul and King David and countless others throughout history to be used by God? To place ourselves in the service of the King.
I’ll end with this verse from Psalm 84:10 (NLT),
“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.”
It’s both a surrendering of our will and placing ourselves in the kingdom of God.
Think it over / Meditate on:
Why is it difficult to surrender our will to God’s will?
What does it look like in your life to be in the service of the King Jesus?
Take some time this week to read and meditate on all of Psalm 84
Listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/YiS2QzvDhQc
Written by Grant Chinn - Families Pastor