The way you live now is completely controlled by what you believe about your future.

Here, then, is what we must do when we suffer. We should look around our lives to see if our suffering has not been unnecessarily intensified because there are some things that we have set our hearts and hopes upon too much. We must relocate our glory and reorder our loves.

How does God actually become our glory? The only answer is: through a rediscovery of the gospel of free grace.

The verse says, “But you, Lord, are . . . my glory.” Derek Kidner writes: “‘My glory’ is an expression to ponder: it indicates . . . the comparative unimportance of earthly esteem.”

Now, it is natural to respond to all this with a question. It goes like this: “Wait a minute. You are saying I have to love God. But I love a lot of things: I love material comforts; I love people; I love romance. Are you saying I have to love God and not these things?” No, you must reorder your loves.

The reason we don’t have peace is we are loving mutable things, things that circumstances can take away from us. But there is one thing that is immutable. It is God, his presence and his love. The only love that won’t disappoint you is one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live.

Here, I believe Paul is urging his readers not just to order the thoughts of their mind but to engage the affections of the heart.

Paul is essentially calling on us to trust God’s sovereign rule of history and of our lives. He is telling us that we will never be content unless, as we make our heartfelt request, we also acknowledge that our lives are in his hands, and that he is wiser than we are.

He says you thank him as you ask, before you know the response to your requests.