My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace (revised)

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1
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.
2
So faith bounds forward to its goal in God,
And love can trust her Lord to lead her there;
Oh, may He save me from myself, that God
May flood my being with His all fore’er.
3
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.
4
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.
1
James Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

The second Stanza of the original hymn says “Upheld by Him my soul is following hard till God has filled my earnest prayer”. Philippians 3:14 “ press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. This should be all our deepest desire and prayer. Christ is that mark and we must follow Him hard. That is to pursue with all we have. I would not be distracted by other spiritual things even joy or peace or blessing. I want to gain you, your very person. We must never forget God is our very goal. We must pursue daily our whole life regardless of the cost to self. This is the highest Christian experience.