My Goal is God Himself

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.

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.

No matter if the way be sometimes dark;
No matter though cost to be often times great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the Mark,
The way that leads to Him must needs be straight.

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.

Courage Does Not Equal Fearlessness

Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other. 

~ Samuel Johnson

Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.  It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.  

~G.K. Chesterton

Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.

~ Eddie Rickenbacker

Half-Hearted Hoping

God is wholly good, if good at all, and those who hope in Him will be wiser if they hope with all their hearts than if they hope with only half their hearts.

William R. Huntington

Ownership

"Ye are Christ's." --1 Corinthians 3:23

Ye are Christ's." You are His by donation, for the Father gave you to the Son; His by His bloody purchase, for He counted down the price for your redemption; His by dedication, for you have consecrated yourself to Him; His by relation, for you are named by his name, and made one of His brethren and joint-heirs. Labour practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus. When tempted to sin, reply, "I cannot do this great wickedness, for I am Christ's." Immortal principles forbid the friend of Christ to sin. When wealth is before you to be won by sin, say that you are Christ's, and touch it not. Are you exposed to difficulties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ's.

Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, "No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ's. If I were not purchased by blood, I might be like Issachar, crouching between two burdens; but I am Christ's, and cannot loiter." When the siren song of pleasure would tempt you from the path of right, reply, "Thy music cannot charm me; I am Christ's." When the cause of God invites thee, give thy goods and thyself away, for thou art Christ's. Never belie thy profession. Be thou ever one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see you may know that you are the Saviour's, recognizing in you His features of love and His countenance of holiness. "I am a Roman!" was of old a reason for integrity; far more, then, let it be your argument for holiness, "I am Christ's!"

The Lord Waits

And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits - expectant, looking and longing - to be gracious to you, and therefore He lifts Himself up that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you; for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed - happy, fortunate [to be envied] are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship].

Isaiah 30:18 AMP