The Greater Story

25 When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. 26 Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” 27 And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” 29 He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.” 30 Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”

32 When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. 33 So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. – 2 Kings 4:25b-37 ESV

Oftentimes, when reading the stories contained in the Scriptures, we find ourselves trying to ascertain their meaning or attempting to discover some helpful point of application. We desperately search for some relevant truth that we might apply to our own lives. And while this is a worthy goal, our relentless quest for a personalized point of application can leave us missing the primary message of the passage. This can be especially true when we lift these stories out of their surrounding context. When we turn the stories of the Bible into Bible stories, we tend to rob them of their Scriptural context and meaning.

In reading the story of the Shunammite woman, it would be easy to focus our attention on the loss of her child and the faith she exhibited by seeking out the prophet. And while there are lessons to be learned from her actions, the author seems to have a far greater and more important point of emphasis. This entire story takes place in the context of Israel’s ongoing apostasy. It is a time of spiritual darkness and moral apathy. The kings of Israel have consistently led the nation away from the worship of Yahweh by promoting their own replacement deities. From the golden calves erected by Jeroboam to the Canaanite gods, Baal and Asherah, the people of Israel have had a host of idols from which to choose. But through it all, Yahweh has remained faithful and all-powerful. And He has chosen to reveal Himself through His prophets. First, He spoke and exhibited His power through Elijah. Then, upon Elijah’s death, God continued to reveal Himself through Elijah’s former servant, Elisha.

But the stories involving Elijah and Elisha are not intended to focus our attention on these two men, as much as they are to draw our eye to the God who worked through them. They were messengers of Yahweh and human conduits of His grace, mercy, power, and, at times, His judgment. They are the human representatives of God Almighty, speaking and acting on His behalf, and displaying before the people His divine attributes.

So, when the Shunammite woman discovers her son is dead and seeks out the prophet of God, it is less a statement about her faith than it is about God’s invasion of the darkness of Israel. All that takes place in this story is intended to point to Yahweh, not the woman, Gehazi the servant, or Elisha the prophet. But because we’re human, we tend to focus all our attention on the human actors in the drama and, in doing so, we run the risk of minimizing the role of the leading actor in the play: God Himself.

If we isolate this story from its context, we will miss out on all that the author has been trying to reveal about God. Earlier, in chapter 17 of 1 Kings, the author told the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. After his decisive victory over the 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah had been threatened with death by Queen Jezebel. So, he had run for his life. But God had intercepted His fearful prophet and sent him to the town of Zarephath in Sidon. There Elijah met a poor widow who was gathering wood in order to cook a final meal for her and her son. But Elijah had performed a miracle, providing the woman with a seemingly never-ending supply of flour that would sustain their lives for a long time to come. Sound familiar? It should. Because a very similar scene took place when Elisha encountered the prophet’s widow in 2 Kings 18. This woman was about to lose her boys to slavery because of an unpaid debt. She was destitute and down to her last jar of oil. But Elisha intervened and miraculously multiplied her oil so that she had enough to satisfy her debt and sustain her boys for years to come.

But the similarities don’t stop there. The feel-good story of the widow of Zarephath also contains a less-than-happy plot twist. Her young son dies unexpectedly, and she confronts Elijah about this devastating turn of events.

“O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” – 1 Kings 17:18 NLT

Even Elijah was at a loss as to why this tragedy had taken place, and he expressed his exasperation to Yahweh.

“O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” – 1 Kings 17:20 NLT

But the point of the passage is not the woman’s anger or Elijah’s disappointment with God. It is the divine intervention of Yahweh.

And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! – 1 Kings 17:21-22 NLT

Remember, both Elijah and Elisha had been chosen by God to be the human vessels through whom He revealed Himself to the people of Israel. They were nothing more than men, but God had set them apart for His use. He spoke and acted through them and, oftentimes, in spite of them.

But don’t miss the significant parallels found in all of these stories. The Shunammite woman, like the widow of Zarephath, suddenly finds her joy interrupted by the death of her child. So, she seeks out the prophet of God. This time, it’s Elisha. And she confronts him about this devastating turn of events. Her worst nightmare has come true.

“Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn’t I say, ‘Don’t deceive me and get my hopes up’?” – 2 Kings 4:28 NLT

She was angry and justifiably so. And Elijah was caught off guard, having been given no prior insight from God concerning the death of her child. God had not revealed the nature of her distress or given the prophet a solution to remedy it. But once Elisha discovered what had happened, he acted promptly. At one time, Elisha had been the servant of Elijah, and he would have been intimately familiar with the story of the widow of Zarephath. Most likely, he had been there to witness the miraculous death-to-life transformation that had taken place.

So, fully trusting that God would intervene yet again, he commanded his servant to take his staff and lay it on the body of the dead child. But this “remedy” proved ineffective. That was not the way God was going to restore the boy’s life. He wanted Elisha to be personally and physically involved in the miracle. It was not that God could not or would not operate through a staff. He had done so before and could do so again – if He so chose. Consider all the miracles God had performed through the staff of Moses. But on this occasion, God was going to require that Elisha be intimately involved in the delivery of the miracle. And just as Elijah had “stretched himself out over the child” (1 Kings 17:21 NLT), so Elisha “lay down on the child’s body” (2 Kings 4:34 NLT). In both cases, these men acted as God’s hands-on representatives, illustrating His intimate concern for His people through their own physical touch and personal involvement.

In a sense, the God of the universe had required both Elijah and Elisha to have some skin in the game. They became active agents in the delivery of God’s miracle. But neither of these men was meant to be the focus of the story or seen as the source behind the miracle. They were simply instruments in the hand of God. But their personal touch made the transcendent God more knowable and relatable. Through their intimate involvement, they made the care and concern of God tangible and visible. God chose to revive the lives of these two boys through the personal touch of His chosen prophets.

And, once again, let’s not miss the overall context of Scripture. These two stories point to an even greater display of God’s love and intimacy that was to come. Centuries later, God would send His own Son as His anointed messenger, delivering a message of repentance and renewal to the rebellious people of Israel. Jesus would become the final prophet of God, who would make the power and presence of God known through His incarnation. He would become God in human flesh, delivering the divine message of redemption and spiritual rejuvenation. Like Elijah and Elisha, Jesus would be required to personally engage with the nation of Israel. But His involvement in the restoration of life to the spiritually dead nation would require a far greater price than either Elijah or Elisha had paid. Jesus would end up sacrificing His own life so that many might live. He would stretch out His hands on a cruel Roman cross, paying the penalty for mankind’s sin by offering His own sinless life as a substitute. He would die so that we might live. He would pay the ultimate price so that those who were dead in their trespasses and sins might experience new life and enjoy a new relationship with God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Day of the Lord Is Near!

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near. ­– Zephaniah 1:7 ESV

The words of Zephaniah were written during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. He was a good king who had instituted many religious and moral reforms among the people of God. Upon rediscovery of the Law, he was convicted by the sins of his people and motivated to bring about change, using his official capacity as king to reinstitute the celebration of Passover and put in place a program for the removal of the many idols that had become common place in Judah. But Josiah’s reforms had failed to change the hearts of the people. They remained rebellious, hard-hearted, stubborn and unfaithful to God. They were guilty of having turned back from following God and did not seek Him or His counsel. In fact, they no longer took the Lord seriously. Instead, their attitude was, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill” (Zephaniah 1:12 ESV). Their view of God was that He was incompetent, indifferent, or simply impotent. They truly believed that He was not going to do anything. In spite of the fact that Israel, their neighbors to the north, had been defeated and taken captive by the Syrians, just as God had said they would be, the people of Judah ignored the warnings of prophets like Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Nahum and Habakkuk. But God reminded them, “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast” (Zephaniah 1:14 ESV). They could deny it, ignore it, or simply refuse to think about it. But its reality was inevitable and unavoidable.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God’s will is a powerful force that cannot and will not be stopped by men. He is going to do what He has planned to do. He will accomplish His will regarding mankind and His creation. His sovereignty over all that He has made remains intact and invincible. Throughout these three short chapters of the book of Zephaniah, we see the repeated phrase, “I will…” God is letting His people know that while they are saying, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill,” nothing could be further from the truth.

“I will utterly sweep away everything…” – Zephaniah 1:2 ESV

“I will sweep away man and beast…” – Zephaniah 1:3 ESV

“I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea…” – Zephaniah 1:3 ESV

“I will cut off mankind…” – Zephaniah 1:4 ESV

“I will stretch out my hand against Judah…” – Zephaniah 1:4 ESV

Why? “Because they have sinned against the Lord” (Zephaniah 1:17 ESV). Nothing and no one will be able to stand against the Lord when that day comes when He decides to bring judgment upon the world. No nation on earth will be able to resist His will or avoid His wrath. It will be “a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements” (Zephaniah 1:18-19 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

For millennium, mankind has made a habit out of attempting to either deny God’s existence or resist His rule. The human race has gone out of its way to replace God as the rightful King over His creation with sub-par substitutes. They have attempted to run the world and, by extension, their own lives according to their own desires, replacing God’s will with their own. Even the people of God, chosen by Him to be His children and a living example of His grace, mercy and love; regularly rejected Him in favor of false gods and pseudo-saviors. Their lives were marked by pride, arrogance, injustice, and indifference to the ways of God. While God had proven Himself faithful, they had regularly displayed their unfaithfulness to Him. “The Lord within her is righteous; he does not injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail, but the unjust knows no shame” (Zephaniah 3:5 ESV). God had gone out of His way to show them His power and convince them of His love, “but all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt” (Zephaniah 3:7 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

What do you get when you mix a holy, righteous God with an unholy, sinful and rebellious people? For one thing, you get judgment. God will judge wickedness because He is holy and just and must deal rightly with unrighteousness. But at the same time, you get mercy, forgiveness, redemption and restoration. The amazing thing about God is that He had a plan for dealing with man’s sin that would allow Him to remain just and holy, yet loving and merciful at the same time. He sent His own Son to pay for the sins of mankind and satisfy His righteous wrath. He provided a means by which men might be saved from the inevitability of the death sentence against them due to their open rebellion against him. He gave His Son as their sin substitute. He died in their place. But they must accept that free gift, acknowledging their own inability to meet God’s exacting standards and their insufficiency in satisfying the debt they owed. Even the rebellious people of Israel will find grace, mercy and forgiveness in the form of the very one they rejected – Jesus Christ, their Messiah. When all is said and done, God will redeem and restore a remnant of His chosen people, fulfilling His promises to Abraham and satisfying every facet of the covenant He made with them. “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach” (Zephaniah 3:16-18 ESV).

Father, the day of the Lord is near. It is closer than it has ever been. That day when You will make all things right and complete Your redemptive work for mankind and the restoration of Your creation is right around the corner. May we learn to live in the reality of that thought. May we recognize and rest in the hope that we have in You. You have told Your people, Israel, of the day when You will “restore your fortunes before your eyes.” You WILL do what You have promised to do. And the day when Your work will be done is coming soon. Amen

The Plan of God.

Joshua 15-16, Acts 13

And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. ­– Acts 13:19 ESV

It would take almost 450 years, but the people of Israel would eventually find themselves the inhabitants of the land promised by God to Abraham. He would fully fulfill His promise to give them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. God would do His part, but the people of Israel never fully complied with His command to destroy all the nations dwelling in the land. He would prove faithful, but they would not. Yet, the occupation of the land and their unfaithfulness while living in it were all part of His divine plan. This was not a surprise to God. He was not caught off guard or panicked by their lack of faithfulness. In fact, Paul makes it clear that all of this was part of a well-conceived of plan devised by God long before He ever called Abram out of Ur. The people of Israel would be used by God to accomplish His will for the entire world. They would not only be the recipients of His grace, they would end up being the conduit of His grace and mercy to the entire world.

What does this passage reveal about God?

Speaking at the synagogue at Perga, Paul addressed a crowd made up of Jews and those who “feared God” – Gentiles who had converted to Judaism. He recounted God's choosing of Israel and His blessing of them while they lived in the land of Egypt. He reminded them how God had rescued them from their eventual slavery under the Egyptians and led them for 40 years in the wilderness as they made their way to the land He had promised to give them. Eventually they conquered that land, but it would take them 450 years to do so. And they would never fully follow God's command to eliminate all the nations that had occupied the land. This would end up in their worship of the gods of the very nations they refused to remove from their midst. Which Paul reminds them, is what led to God having to send judges. These men and women would “saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them” (Judges 2:16 ESV). The period of the judges marked a repetitive cycle of the people sinning against God by turning to other gods, then God having to bring judgment in the form of defeat at the hands of their enemies. This would eventually result in the people crying out to God for help, and His sending of a judge to rescue them. Then the cycle would repeat itself. In time, the people of Israel determined they wanted a king, just like all the other nations had. In doing so, they were rejecting God as their true King. But this was all part of God's plan as well. After giving the people Saul, a king just like all the other nations, God would place His king, David, on the throne – “a man after my heart, who will do all my will” (Acts 13:22 ESV). From the lineage of David would came Jesus, the Savior of the world and the legitimate heir to the throne of David. But the Jews would reject Him as their King and Lord. They would refuse to recognize Him as their Messiah, instead demanding that Pilate put Him to death. Which he did. But this was all part of God's plan. The death of Jesus was not unexpected or surprising to God. It was all in fulfillment of a long-standing plan for the redemption of mankind. Jesus had to die. But His death was followed by resurrection. He did not remain in the grave. God destroyed death's strangle hold on mankind by raising Jesus back to life. Elsewhere Paul reminds us, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11 ESV). Jesus' restoration to life from death is proof of God's promise to give men eternal life. Paul told his audience that day, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

The plans of men pale in comparison to the plan of God. The unfaithfulness of men cannot thwart or stop the faithfulness of God. The people of Israel never lived up to God's expectations for them. But He wasn't surprised. He knew they could never fully keep His commands or live up to His holy standards. His law was intended to reveal the depth of their sin and depravity. It made the reality of man's sin visible and undeniable. It also proved that no man could earn favor with God through his own efforts – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). All men, both Jews and Gentiles, find themselves in the same dilemma – under the curse of the law and condemned to death for their sins. But God's plan was to send His Son as the payment for man's sin. His death was intended to satisfy the just and righteous demands of God, acting as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind. But as in Paul's day, there are those who refuse to accept God's Son as the payment for their sins. They refuse to believe their need for a Savior. There will always be those who reject Jesus as Savior and Lord. But God's plan will accomplish its appointed goal: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48 ESV). Many will reject God's offer of forgiveness of sin and salvation made available through Jesus Christ. But others will believe. Because it is all part of God's incredible, unstoppable plan.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

It is so important that I view life from God's perspective and not from my own, limited viewpoint. I must constantly learn to see the world from a big-picture perspective. While the people of Israel were integral to God's plan, they were not the focus. Their inability to understand and embrace God's big-picture perspective prevented them from enjoying His blessings. They were short-term in their outlook, only thinking about the immediate impact on their personal lives. They didn't live for the future. They lived in the here and now, fulfilling their own personal desires and viewing themselves as the sole focus of God's attention. But God had bigger plans. He had a much larger outcome in mind. And while God still has His hand on the people of Israel and will fulfill every promise He has made to them, His real goal was to provide redemption and restoration to men of every tribe, tongue and nation. God's plan is not yet complete. I must remember that there is far more to this story than my own personal chapter. God is working a much greater storyline and, while it includes me, it does not focus on me. I am not the point. He is.

Father, thank You for the reminder and reassurance that Your plan is in place and You are working it to perfection. There is nothing that I need to worry about, because You are in full control. Help me to see life through Your eyes and not my own. Show me how to view all the circumstances of life as part of Your overall plan for the redemption and restoration of mankind to a right relationship with You. Amen

The End In Mind.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. – Matthew 24:14 ESV

It is so easy to see the Bible as 66 isolated and independent books written by a variety of authors and covering a timeline thousands of years in length. But it is important to remember that the Bible is the revelation of God, not a record of historical events written down by men. It is, in essence, one book written by one author and dealing a single storyline: the redemption of mankind by God. The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are essential to the overall plot of the book, but are not to be confused with the central theme and the primary character: God Himself. One of the benefits of reading the Old and New Testaments simultaneously is that it provides a constant reminder that there is really a single story going on. It's a story with a beginning and an end. The death of Jacob does not end the story. The arrival of the people of Israel in Egypt is not the climax of the plot. The rise of Joseph to power in Egypt and his wise handling of the famine is simply just another plot twist in the bigger story of God's plan for the restoration of mankind to a right relationship with Him.

What does this passage reveal about God?

Jacob, near death, reminded his long-lost son, Joseph, about the promise of God. "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession'" (Genesis 48:3-4 ESV). This was a long-standing promise originally made to Abraham and confirmed over and over again by God to each of Abraham's descendants. "I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God" (Genesis 17:6-8 ESV). Once again, we see the promise being passed down to each successive generation. Even though he was close to death, Jacob knew that God was not done yet. His passing would not negate the fulfillment of the promise, because its impact was to be cross-generational and international in scope. Even before Abraham had ever set eyes on the land of Canaan, God had told him, "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3 ESV). The story wasn't going to just be about Abraham and his descendants. It wasn't going to be limited to the people of Israel. God's story was about the fate of mankind and His plan to deal with the sins of mankind in a just, holy, and righteous way. God's story includes the creation, the fall, and, ultimately, the redemption of man through the coming of Jesus Christ. Everything points to that moment and God's Word must be read with that end in mind.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Every man who has ever lived has had a plan for his own life. There is a natural bent in each of us to see our lives as central to the storyline. We view our moment in the spotlight as paramount. We want to be significant. We want to have an influence. There is a natural tendency to focus on self and to see the world from our limited and somewhat selfish perspective. But when reading the stories of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, we see that each of these men, while important, were not indispensable. They were not the point of the story. Each of them played a limited part, but there was a much greater story going on behind the scenes to which they were, for the most part, oblivious. To each, the blessing was important. Which is why they were so adamant to make sure that they or their children received the blessing. Joseph was upset when Jacob laid his hands on the wrong sons, saying, "Not this way, my father, since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head" (Genesis 48:18 ESV). Joseph had a plan and it included his firstborn son, Manasseh. But God had a bigger plan. He was operating with a far greater plot in mind than simply the blessing of a single son or a solitary generation. Our greatest problem is that we too often think the story revolves around us. We see ourselves as the main characters in the plot and view God as a glorified screenwriter whose job it is to craft our story according to our own self-centered, self-satisfying notions.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

But God is doing something far greater than any of us can even imagine. Abraham had no idea just how big God's plan was. Isaac was oblivious as to the magnitude of the storyline God was writing. Jacob and Joseph were unaware of the incredible nature of what God was doing behind the scenes. Men would come and go. Generations would pass from existence. And yet God was still at work implementing His plan for mankind. No one individual or nation would be more important than any other. Kings and slaves, Jews and Gentiles, men and women … they all would be used to accomplish God's divine plan for the future. His mind was focused on the end. He knew what had to be done for mankind to be restored to a right relationship with Him. He knew the blessing was about more than promised land and progeny. It was about salvation and redemption from slavery to sin and the condemnation of death that every man was under. I need to have that same mindset. It isn't all about me. The world doesn't revolve around me and my desires. I don't exist for my own satisfaction and I should not live to seek my own limited will. I exist for God's glory and am part of a long-standing line of men and women whom God has used to accomplish His greater plan for the good of mankind. I am to live with the end in mind. I am to focus on the reality that my life and my short time on this planet are not the point of the story. I am to live faithfully focused on the end. Jesus told His disciples, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:44 ESV). Interestingly enough, not one of those men lived to see the second coming of Christ. And yet they were told to live with that event in mind. They were to be ready. And so should we be. We are to live with the end in mind – not our end, but the one God has planned for all mankind. It is the end of the story, the culmination and conclusion of His plan.

Father, keep me focused on Your plan and not my own. Constantly remind me that there is something far more important than my own selfish, self-centered satisfaction and comfort. I want to be a faithful servant who is found doing what You have called me to do when Your Son returns. I may not live to see that day, but I want to conduct my life as if I will. I want my greatest desire to be Christ's return and the conclusion of Your plan. Help me to live with the end in mind. Amen.