Year-end Reflection

Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.

- E.B. White

A few minutes after midnight my daughter Obedient One and I listened to the beautiful song by Robin Mark entitled The Wonder of the Cross.

As we listened to the prayerful lyrics of the song, I meditated along with Robin Mark as he sang.

The wonder of Your cross shall be our meditation... 

The opening lines of this song struck a deep chord in my spirit.

It is the last day of the year, and in less than 24 hours another year begins.

I must confess that my devotional life this past year has been far from what I would have wanted it to be.

Others may ask, Who among those called by His name have a truly ideal devotional life?

Probably not very many.

Nevertheless that isn't really the point.

The enemy of our souls will always saddle us with a sense of inadequacy, and of not being good enough.

I chose to ignore the accusing finger pointed at me and recognized instead the arms of grace stretched out toward me.

As I listened to this song, my heart was gripped with the truth of what Jesus came to earth for: to purchase my salvation by dying in my place.

Dying a death He doesn't deserve.

To rescue me from the land of the enemy... and secure a place for me in eternity.

And my heart was filled with wonder ... that inexplicable, indescribable feeling of admiration mixed with a deep sense of holy awe, beauty, and surprise.

After the song, Obedient and I took communion, breaking bread and drinking wine, symbols of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus on the cross.

I thanked Jesus for the significance of His broken body.

By His stripes we are healed, Isaiah 53:5.

The healing has already been done, and we thanked Jesus again for the healing that is still taking place today in our lives two thousand years after His death.

Healing in our bodies, healing in our relationships, healing in our faulty mindsets and attitudes.

Daughter thanked Jesus for the implications of His shed blood.

You have been good to me, Jesus, from the moment I was conceived, she prayed.

You have been good to me and all of us in our family, watching over us, providing our every need.

We thank You for Your finished work on the Cross.

We come under that finished work...

And we receive the full benefit of what You have accomplished through Your death, Jesus.

What a beautiful prayer my daughter prayed. She spoke in our Ilongo dialect, which made the prayer even more beautiful and heartfelt.

That quiet sense of awesome wonder lingered in my heart.

And as the year ends, I can't help but really thank Jesus for the meaning of the Cross.

Where would I be if I never had a chance to understand what the Cross really means? I would probably still be out there trying to earn my own salvation through my own puny efforts.

These are the thoughts I am meditating on as this year draws to a close.

The Cross O the wonderful Cross
What glory, what victory I've found!
I'll come to the wonderful Cross
And my whole life I lay down.


"And my whole life I lay down." It's the only fitting response to the Cross.

The song ends with Robin Mark praying this prayer:

Lord we thank You for the Cross.
Lord we thank You that it's the Cross that allows us to come before Your throne.
And permits us to come into Your presence.
To stand before You and sing Your praises and declare Your glory.
Lord we thank You that You're enthroned in heaven,
We thank You, Lord, that You have always been enthroned in heaven.
Lord, we thank You for that day and that time when Your Son left the throne of heaven...
To walk this earth and give His life as a ransom for many.
So, Lord, we stand as the ransomed, we stand as the redeemed,
We stand as those who were lost but now are found.
Lord we stand in a glory that is not our own,
Or a righteousness that is not our own
But is ours because of the sacrifice Your Son made on the Cross.
Oh we worship You Lord, we worship You Father.
We lift up Your name, and exalt Your name.
Because of the Cross... because of who You are... because of Your glory.
Because of Your glory that is above all, 
Because Your Kingdom is above all kingdoms,
Because of the light of the Cross,
Because of the light of Your glory...


I echo that prayer, Lord.

I come before You in worship, exalting and lifting up Your Holy Name.

Thank You for the Cross, thank You for the empty grave.

Thank You for the victory, thank You for the glory.

Thank You for 2015.

There are still answers to long standing prayers that I am waiting for.

Failed expectations.

Wondering at times if I am still on the right road.

Always, Your gentle assurance has been spoken. Not verbally, but a strong sense that not only are You with me, more than anything else, You are for me.

Despite my doubts, misgivings, disappointments, unvoiced pain... it has truly been a good year.

I thank You for each of the past 365 days of provision, protection, guidance, and a fresh awareness of who You really are in my life.

Thank You, my dear Abba Father, thank You in advance for 2016.

Each new year from Your perspective is always better than the one before it. May I see Your plans and purposes through the eyes of my heart and my understanding, for indeed You are the God who speaks truth.

When You the LORD of hosts say, "The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former...and in this place I will give peace," (Haggai 2:8) Your words are trustworthy and dependable.

This 2016, You alone are My God in whom I put my hope and my trust.

And my whole life I lay down...

Faith is a place of mystery,
where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see
and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.
- Brene Brown