My goal is God Himself
My goal is God Himself
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1
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My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace, Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God; 'Tis His to lead me there—not mine, but His— At any cost, dear Lord, by any road. |
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So faith bounds forward to its goal in God, And love can trust her Lord to lead her there; Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer. |
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No matter if the way be sometimes dark, No matter though the cost be oft-times great, He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark, The way that leads to Him must needs be strait. |
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4
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One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay; One thing I do, I press towards my Lord; My God my glory here, from day to day, And in the glory there my great Reward. |
45
Instrumental (Guitar)
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Baguio, Benguet, Philippines
My goal is not joy, nor peace, nor even blessing, but HIMSELF, MY GOD!!!
London, United Kingdom
This is not only a hymn but a message. My soul follows hard after God.
Liverpool
Thank You dear Father, Son and Holy Spirit for Your faithfulness. You will lead us to Heaven. 'And love can trust her Lord to lead her there.'
London, England, United Kingdom
Oh Lord help us not to miss heaven at last in Jesus Name. You are our goal and You will lead us home at the end in Jesus Name. Make holiness our watch word always. Thanks for uploading this song and God bless you all.. Shalom!!!
Austin, Texas, United States
I always thought that there was a typo in this song.
"The way that leads to Him must needs be strait."
But actually, the word strait here was used intentionally—it doesn't mean that our path to the Lord is "straight". In dear brother Frances Brook's time, "strait" had the meaning of the word narrow, in addition to being the name of a channel of water.
This reflects Matthew 7:14, which says
"Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it."
Santa Ana, California, United States
This hymn conveys the experience of someone who despite the pain and loss, consider his supreme reward to be God Himself…willing to take "any road" by "any cost." Yet realizing that he cannot get himself there, he iterates, "Tis His to lead me there--not mine."
Yet again, reiterates "But His" as if He is telling himself and us the readers "I cannot will myself to get to where I need to be because I have lost all my will power to do so, but it is 'His will' to get there." This is proven by the words in stanza 2 which state: "so faith bounds forward to its goal in God." Here the author is experiencing being "bound" by the faith which has been infused into the depths of his being.
Unable to retract or regress from the Christian journey he has begun, he has no choice but to remain bound. However, although bound and unbeknownst to him, he is making progress. In like manner, we at times we may give up and retract from the course as if all hope is gone and our faith disappeared. It is precisely at this juncture that we find ourselves "bound" by the faith we have received.
This precious faith, which is the very God Himself, cannot and will not let us go. Rather, this faith is personafied in such a way, that it is becomes a Person who upholds us and thus, our "soul follows hard." That is, hardships are hard, yet this Person in us follows harder. The pain is hard to bear, yet He is the inner strength that strives harder to carry us through. While there exists an inexplicable abyss that surrounds us outwardly coupled with perpetrating inner turmoil that besets us constantly; God still continues, unaffected, to carry out what He has willed to do by any means, at any cost, by any road "until [He] God hath full fulfilled [our] deepest prayer "to "reach the mark" where God is--in His glory. It is there where we truly find our "great Reward." That Reward my fellow sufferers in Christ is the very God who called us when we were once in darkness…Who is now leading us to "full" glory. It's all or nothing at all.
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
On reading the comments, how it gladdens my heart to know that there are children of His, who desire Him and Him alone. I too have desired this, and still plod along the road which leads to Him Himself. Many tears, but I cannot turn from this road He has put me on and planted into my heart....
Denton, Texas, United States
Lord Jesus, make this prayer a reality! Using this song in my wedding ceremony, Lord I want You to be the center and expression on our wedding day. All glory and praise to You, Lord.
United Kingdom
I was indulging in a little self pity this morning about a situation which has been perplexing me for some time now. As usual I had been enquiring of the Lord for the "solution" whilst at the same time feeling guilty at my own reactions which I know to be soulish. I told the Lord I needed to be comforted and He reminded me of this hymn.
I wanted a situation to turn out joyful and peaceful and concerned because I did not understand. But He, this Precious, Marvellous, Wonderful One has led me to Himself. So once again He has me.
Gardengrove, CA, United States
:-) Thoroughly enjoyed this hymn during the CSU Fullerton retreat before school started. Won't forget the pleasant memories when we sung this with Martin, Yeezy, Frank, CrystAllison, and Alissa after the home meeting.