Jesus,
Are You beckoning us
in our suffering?
“Come to Me” (Mt. 11:28-30).
When deep waters threaten to drown us? (Ps. 69:1)
When words wound, relationships crumble,
and our hearts are broken?
“Come to Me.”
When others criticize, condemn, shame, blame, and judge our motivations—
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless (Ps. 71:4 BSB) who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt (Luke 18:9 BSB).
“Come to Me.”
When our freedom is limited,
when losses grieve?
I have carried your sorrows (Is. 53:4). If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink (Jn. 7:37).
When anxiety and depression
dim our view of Your presence—
“Come to Me.”
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (Jn. 14:23 BSB).
Jesus, help us come to Thee, accepting the best invitation ever!
Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come…
(“Jesus, I Come,” Sleeper, W. T., 1887)
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (Jn. 8:36 BSB)!
Jesus, I come TO You, OUT OF…
Out of my sickness, into thy health,
out of my want and into thy wealth,
out of my sin and into thyself,
Jesus, I come to thee.
In my distress
I called to the LORD,
and He answered
and set me free (Ps. 118:5 BSB).
Jesus, I come to the cross once again
Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come.
Though my sins are like scarlet,
they will be white as snow (Is. 1:18)!
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Jesus, I come to Your soul-healing balm, rejoicing in Your gift of the best invitation ever
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm…
Come with Me privately
to a solitary place,
and let us rest for a while (Mk. 6:31 BSB).
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Jesus, help me abide in Your love, resting in Your loving will for my life, all a gift of grace
Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come…
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
You have called me
out of darkness
into Your marvelous light!
I am Yours,
Your chosen possession,
called to proclaim Your virtues! (1 Pet. 2:9)
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Help me come out of myself, freeing me from my burden within this suffering, accepting Your best invitation…ever
Not consumed with myself,
my suffering,
my losses,
my limitations—
But resting in Your love,
remembering who I am in You.
Remembering what You’ve done in my place.
Jesus, I come to Thee as I await the glorious day I will see You face-to-face, the best invitation everlasting, a wedding feast to come!
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come…
You shared in our humanity.
Through Your death,
You destroyed the power of death
and freed those held in slavery
by the fear of dying (Heb. 2:14-15)!
“I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am” (Jn. 14:3 BSB).
Into the joy and light of Thy throne,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
In any suffering my earthly future might hold, Jesus, I accept the best invitation ever, coming to You with hope
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold…
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads (Rev. 22:4 BSB).
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Jesus, in this suffering, where You invite us so close to Yourself, help each of my suffering sisters in Christ and me to come to You…and find rest for our souls as we continue to re-open Your best invitation….ever. In Your glorious name, amen.
A playlist gift to help us come to Jesus, to abide in His love and peace, His best invitation ever as we suffer
This song tops the list. It won’t leave me alone this week. Jesus’ invitation to us isn’t just for the moment we first trusted in Him as Savior and Lord. It’s ongoing, constant. He knows how difficult it is to live in this fallen world…He entered it willingly and suffered everything we do. And He is interceding for us right now, inviting us to come to Him and keep on coming to Him. Until the day of our wedding supper with Him and all those who are united with Him!
So, this week’s playlist gift is His giant invitation to peace, joy, calm, and His love as we come to Him by singing to Him. Out of…into our union with Jesus Himself.
If this would be His loving gift to you, it’s crafted with love. Just sign up here, and it will come to your email from this sister in Christ who understands how hard this is…
To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Blessings in Christ as We Suffer: Scripture Prayers for the Hardest Days, Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.
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