Pouring It Out

Pour out your heart

               like water

before the Presence

      of the LORD.

        Lamentations 2. 19

(Anxiety, worry and stress

   are the outcome

   of holding it in,

 inflating what we cannot control,

 blinding us to what we can do,

and blocking out

         all available light.

God does not just show up.

  He is waiting for us

to come to Him,

drag these distresses

             to the altar,

and show us His way

   through the darkness.)

O LORD,

Please change our triggers

  from anguish, anger

                  and despair,

to turning to You instead.

Grant us Your strength

  to lift that seething kettle

and pour out our concerns

           to You.

You never intended us

    to carry them.

May Your glory

  evaporate all our fears.

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And The Strength To Do It

...so that those

who have believed in God

may be careful

to devote themselves

     to good works.

          Titus 3. 8

(Good works are anything

we undertake to do,

to bring goodness

     even to a mess,

to be selfless

     in times of need,

to be thoughtful,

    attentive and kind.

Good works show

  what transformed hearts

  look like on the outside.

Even unbelievers expect us

  to act differently

  and with grace.

Others constantly watch

  to see if God is real.)

O LORD,

Help us to not just see

  the gaps and brokenness

  and the mess

but be devoted to You in it.

Help us to be careful

   to listen to You,

   respond,

and be a strong witness

   in times of need.

Strengthen us

          with fresh hearts

to love others

     right to You.

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Unusual, Unlikely And Unexpected

 

They called to the LORD,

and He answered them.

In the pillar of the cloud,

  He spoke to them.

           Psalm 98. 6-7

(God always responds

   when we call to Him,

sometimes in the most

  unusual, unlikely

  and unexpected ways.

The question is not

    is God listening?

but are we responding

     to Him?

He leads us in ways

    we haven't considered.

He provides the wisdom

           and strength

   to follow Him

   on His higher way.)

O LORD,

We come to You.

We call to You.

Help us to listen

          and respond

to Your ways in this.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Not just to get an answer,

   but to know You more.

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A Big Pink Eraser

 

Ascribe to the LORD

  the glory due His name...

          Psalm 96. 8

(It is not just that we should

     give God the credit

  (for what He has done

                      anyway),

but give Him the glory.

We don't need to write

       His name on it,

but erase ours.)

O LORD,

Forgive us for taking the credit

   for what You have done,

the wondrous and marvelous

  workings of Your hand.

Forgive us for calling

  these things coincidence,

  or luck,

  or claiming ownership

           for ourselves.

May we write Your name

  at the top of the paper

  and the top of the day

and live differently

              as a result.

For Your Kingdom.

For Your glory.

In Your name.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Inseparable Link

 

They profess to know God,

but they deny Him

           by their deeds.

            Titus 1. 16

(That which is evident to all

     --even unbelievers--

is the inseparable link

between faith and practice,

   belief and behavior.

Our witness is grounded in

practices, patterns,

whether we respond

           or react,

faithful in our deeds,

   and kindness in our words.

What different choices

    do we make?)

O LORD,

May we not just

    be mindful of You,

but bear the mind of Christ

in whatever we face today,

with whomever we are,

wherever You lead us,

and how we do our work.

Help us to make choices

that both honor You

and reveal Your grace.

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Hard Places And The Splendid

 

But afterward

     I will restore...

      Jeremiah 49. 6

(Whatever the struggle,

God does not abandon us.

God is not just

  bringing us through something,

never "teaching us a lesson"

    like a punishing dictator,

but drawing us in love

           closer to Him.

Instead of asking why,

  "what is God forming in me

   through this situation?"

God does not return us

  to our original condition.

We cannot help but be changed,

restored, refreshed, renewed,

repaired, redeemed,

and returned, yet not 

    to the same starting point.

 But strengthened.

He does not just make

       the broken new,

but also the familiar

    and the ordinary.)

O LORD,

Thank You that

  You walk right with us

through the hard places

      and the splendid.

Revive our hearts

  to see circumstances

          with new eyes.

Surround us with

   Your steadfast love.

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Strengthens Us Instead

 

If the LORD

  had not been my help,

my soul would soon have

lived in the land of silence.

When I thought,

     "My foot slips,"

Your steadfast love,

             O LORD,

      held me up.

When the cares of my heart

                 are many,

Your consolations

          cheer my soul.

                Psalm 94. 17-19

(May we not even think about

   doing this on our own.

And certainly not leave home

        without Him.

Different journey.

   Different outcome.

          Every time.

"Hold My hand in this,"

            God whispers.

"You are not alone.

      I am walking with you.

I will bring help

  from unexpected sources."

What threatens to bring us down,

   strengthens us instead.)

O LORD,

You do not just show up.

   You are already here,

   waiting for us.

May this situation

  form a deeper trust in You.

Help us to hold tight,

     listen and respond,

not just to see another path

   through this miry bog,

but see You.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com