Mary was about to lose our beloved Jesus to the cross. What did she do in the midst of this sad and stressful time? She broke her precious possession, an alabaster flask of expensive perfumed ointment, pouring it over Jesus’s feet (Jn. 12:3).
She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial (Mk. 14:8 ESV).
What could she do in this hard time? She could love Jesus.
Mary poured out her worship of Jesus, one of honor, respect, adoration, love, and humble trust in her Lord as He prepared to die for her. She worshiped Jesus through her sacrificial gift, in the time of suffering, loss, pain, sadness. She poured love.
Martha was busy serving the dinner, doing what she could uniquely do to love Jesus. Mary did what she could uniquely do, offering worship to Jesus. Maybe, in this moment of suffering today, that’s what we can do too. Let’s offer worship to Him together now.
Loving Jesus as we suffer
If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him (Jn. 14:23 ESV).
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
Lord, I love You for making me Yours, for making Your home with me, for giving me an eternal home with You now and forever. Please show me where my sin is keeping me from obeying you, where my thoughts and actions don’t honor You in response to Your love for me. Thank You for Your good and glorious work of grace in my heart.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
Loving Jesus by remembering the gospel of grace, as we suffer
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
Jesus, loving You is from my heart, all made possible by Your gracious gift of a heart that can love you. In response to Your redeeming and sanctifying love, I worship You. I honor and glorify You for Your weighty, glorious, rich worth as God the Son who became human and suffered all that we suffer. Yet, You lived a perfect life, perfectly obedient to the Father, fulfilling all the demands of the law. You took the punishment for my inborn sin and You’re now alive and reigning on Your throne as You wait for Your return to judge the world. By Your amazing grace, I no longer fear You in terror but love You. Oh, my Jesus, how I love Thee.
I’ll love thee in life, I will love thee in death;
and praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
and say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
She has done a beautiful thing to me (Mk. 14:6b ESV).
Lord, as I walk through this journey of earthly suffering and loss, help me to continually respond to Your love by doing “a beautiful thing to You” too, with my own unique expression of love to You,
so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in [me] and [me] in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:12 ESV).
In the glorious name of Jesus, amen.
Loving Jesus for His love as we suffer
Beloved in Christ, in this time of suffering, pain, and loss we share today, I pray that you
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
(“My Jesus, I Love Thee,” Featherston, W. R., 1862).
Playlist to love, adore, worship, glorify Jesus Christ
In our suffering, let’s love Jesus too. Would you like to join me in singing for His ears alone?
This week, we sing words of love back to Jesus, not as a “good work” to obtain His love, but as a heart response to His love for us.
I pray that He will give your heart a song of love, to glorify Him in this hard time, through him.
If it would bless you to have a playlist to love, adore, worship, and glorify Jesus in personal worship time, sign up here and it will come to your email.
4 Comments
Susan Sage · September 7, 2021 at 9:45 am
Great thoughts for starting my day this morning. Just yesterday, I wrote a devotional using this verse. I love when God gives multiple reminders of His word and His love. Thank you, Lauri.
Lauri Hogle · September 7, 2021 at 2:02 pm
I love it when our Father does that! How I praise God for His living and active Word and the Spirit’s work! Praying for you, dear sister. 🙏🏼❤️
Sandra Arbeni · September 9, 2021 at 1:28 pm
We can still praise the Lord on the face of suffering. I can testify to this first hand. The health issues that I’ve been facing over the last few years have helped me to prioritize how I react and rely more on the Lord.
Instead of being bitter or asking why, I decided to spend more time in worshiping Jesus and His Word.
It’s amazing how I have joy which only comes above.
Lauri Hogle · September 9, 2021 at 5:28 pm
Hallelujah to our Lord who gives us joy and peace and hope, in our suffering! Your story echoes so much similarity to what the Lord has done for me and so many of His other children. What amazing grace. Continuing to pray for you, dear sister!
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