Street Meeting Twenty Three

Help me, O LORD God, my strength. Judge us. In the power of thine Spirit, lift up the glory of your name. Revive the weak. Quicken and harden whom thou wilt. But proclaim, redeem the reverence of your name. Let the words of your mouth devour the proud. Let all those who are against your Christ be found as liars. Thou art the first and the last, who died, and art now alive forevermore. Thou art God, the one true LORD of heaven and earth. Of the kingdoms, seen and unseen. The Christ whom the Father hath exalted, The Almighty who now sits upon the throne of power. The righteous Judge and merciful Savior. Glorify thy name in this life thou hast redeemed.

The more I am enabled to proclaim the majesty of God, the more I am discouraged at myself. It is a striking paradox of this ministry—that as the glory of the Creator is lifted up, the unworthiness of the creature is laid bare. In the light of His holiness, my own wretchedness becomes more pronounced, leaving me to marvel that He would condescend to use such a flawed instrument for so high a calling. Yet, even this discouragement serves a holy purpose; it empties the vessel of pride, leaving no doubt that any good that comes about is accomplished solely by and for Him.

A broken in spirit is fertile ground for the vine to bear fruit. It is a profound and divine honor to be used in such a way—to bear fruit for the Lord’s use. In the midst of my own discouragement and the realization of my unworthiness, I am reminded that I serve a good Master. He does not cast aside the broken vessel; rather, by it He brings forth a harvest that could never spring from the dead soil of self-sufficiency. This brokenness is not tragic, but a necessary tilling, ensuring that when the fruit appears, all will know that it was the Lord of Vineyard who hath done it.

While my own nature is prone to wavering, His promises are fixed in eternity, unmoving and untouched by my infirmities. The years will surely take their toll, and I expect to grow old and die continuously wrestling with my fears, but my Lord remains forever faithful in upholding His covenant. This is the bedrock of my comfort and my immovable assurance: the Lord of all the earth will do what is right.