Recently while leading worship in a conference, I began to sing a song I had written and sung countless times in the last 35 years called, One With the Lord.
When I got to the chorus and began to sing it out, “Oh what a joy it is to be one with the Lord,” I heard the Lord speak back to me:
“Oh what a joy it is to be one with you,
and all the precious people who are singing this to Me right now!”
I was startled and amazed! After singing this song for so many years and basking in the joy of being made righteous and complete in my oneness with Christ,
I had never heard Him say it back to me quite like this!
It was such a special moment, realizing God loves us THAT MUCH and delights in us even as we delight in Him. As I began to ponder these thoughts, it all began to make perfect sense.
He loved us SO MUCH that He paid the ultimate price to be one with us.
Just as it is an amazing privilege to have unhindered fellowship with Him day and night, in good times or bad times, He also feels the same way. He is overjoyed to have unhindered fellowship with us like a father would with his own children.
God is so excited about His children and longs to meet with us. We are His prized possession, the apple of His eye, His masterpiece created in Christ Jesus. We are the reason He went to the cross, took the scourging, the nails and all of the pain. The scripture says it like this:
Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. (Hebrews 12:2)
WE were the joy awaiting Him: Oneness with Him, unhindered fellowship with the people He created for His pleasure. (Revelation 4:11)
Jesus knew the sacrifice it would take to accomplish this oneness, even to the point of sweating blood in the garden as He pondered the plan.
“Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me.
Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.” (Luke 22:42)
And in the Gospel of John He prayed God’s will:
I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one–as You are in Me, Father,
and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me.
(John 17:21)
Jesus prayed we would be One with Him just like He was one with His Father. And thank God He accomplished that:
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)
For you are the temple of the Living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and
walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people.’ (2 Corinthians 6:16)
Praise God — He LIVES in us, He LOVES us and REJOICES in the oneness He has with us. And He LOOKS FORWARD to spending time with us!
So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His Love and compassion.
(Isaiah 30:18)
He waits for us to turn to Him and rejoice in Him. And when you do that, always remember: He also delights in you and is rejoicing that He can have fellowship with you & me.
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
So look to Him and enjoy rich fellowship with the One who loves you, lives in you and is one with you.
What a joy,
