Lord, YOU are my righteousness. Hallelujah!

Father, I come today so weary. Feeling alone and discouraged. Feeling so unrighteous as I hunger and thirst for righteousness, amid my hardship right now. You compassionately understand our deep need for You and have given us so many promises in Your Word.

Thank You.

You even encouraged Your people to be strong, without fear or dread, before they ventured into already-known hardship.

How?

Your promise came true, of course.¹ As I face sure suffering in this fallen world and realize my own sin, You continue to promise Your abiding presence, an already-true reality for me as Your beloved in Christ. I praise You today in all my need, “’midst flaming worlds,” as You lift my head up to Jesus once again.

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
my beauty are, my glorious dress;
‘midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
with joy shall I lift up my head.

(“The Lord Our Righteousness,” Ludwig, N. & con Zinzendorf, G., 1739)

My promised Helper within

Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as my Helper,² which came true in Acts 2. So now, You’ve established, anointed, and sealed me and every believer with the gift of Your indwelling Spirit.³ As Your beloved child, He is within me, every moment of this suffering, as the guarantee of my heavenly inheritance.⁴

When from the dust of death I rise
to claim my mansion in the skies,
even then this shall be all my plea,
Jesus hath lived, hath died, for me.

Lord, YOU are my righteousness!

Holy Spirit, You promise to give me godly new desires,⁵ to cause me to walk in obedience⁶ as You continually and progressively sanctify and set me apart in holiness.⁷ You promise that I “will not gratify the desires of the flesh” as You empower me to “walk by the Spirit.”⁸

How?

You are interceding for me according to God’s will, helping me in my suffering and in my humanly sinful weakness.⁹ You’re illuminating Your living and active Word and its truth to my heart,¹⁰ growing, protecting, teaching, counseling, and leading me.¹¹ I can stand confidently in what You are doing in me as I suffer, transforming me until I’m in glory! You are the source, from start to finish!

Bold shall I stand in thy great day;
for who aught to my charge shall lay?
fully absolved through these I am
from sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

Lord, You are growing Your fruit as I suffer

You promise:

What a gift from You, my Lord! When my suffering squeezes, and sinful temptation threatens, I can cling to Your promises, all enabled by Your Holy Spirit abiding in me and transforming me…in and through this suffering time, one of Galatians 5 fruit-bearing growth. This is Your cultivating and pruning work as I walk through earthly trials, ultimately producing a “harvest of righteousness.”¹² 

You promise to fill me with the “fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”¹³ For it’s all “because of” You, God, that we are “in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”¹⁴

Jesus, be endless praise to thee,
whose boundless mercy hath for me –
for me a full atonement made,
an everlasting ransom paid.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Mt. 5:6 ESV).

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God,

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;

he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Is. 61:10 ESV)!

Hallelujah to my God of peace and Helper, my faithful and true Lord, my conquering Redeemer, my only righteousness!

Please help me to rest in Your always-within-me presence and trust You in the transforming work You are doing in me today, as I hunger for Your help to walk in Your righteous way each moment of this suffering.

For Your promises are true.

You will do it!

In Jesus’ glorious name, amen and amen.

Material adapted from Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering: A Devotional Bible Study Prayer Journal, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2023

Singing to our Lord as we suffer

So, what does our playlist gift contain this week?

We’re fixing our eyes upon Jesus as we suffer, praising Him for being our righteousness as we rest in the amazing truths of the gospel, while asking for His help in our longing for righteousness. We’re sing-praying for another week, clinging to His promises to us as God’s beloved sheep.

So, ultimately, this week’s playlist is one of our glorious Lord’s victory!

If it might encourage you to sing to Him and have a sister in Christ praying for you as we both suffer, sign up to receive the music and prayers in your email. If you’re new here, other resources for suffering Christian women are listed below. Praying they encourage you!

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1. Exodus 40:34-38; Deuteronomy 31:6-8 ↩︎
2. John 14:26 ↩︎
3. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ↩︎
4. 2 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 4:6-7 ↩︎
5. Philippians 2:12-13 ↩︎
6. Ezekiel 36:27 ↩︎
7. John 17:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 ↩︎
8. Galatians 5:16 ↩︎
9. Romans 8:26-27 ↩︎
10. John 15:26 ↩︎
11. Proverbs 1:13; Romans 8:14 ↩︎
12. James 3:18 ↩︎
13. Philippians 1:11 ↩︎
14. 1 Corinthians 1:30
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