But this I call to mind,

          and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD

                          never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness.

                         Lamentations 3. 21-23

(Hope in the Bible

is not wishful thinking

            as the world proposes,

but the reality of God

on which you can stake your life.)

 

For lack of wood
      the fire goes out;
and when there is no whisperer,
                quarreling ceases.

                        Proverbs 26. 20

(What am I bringing to this situation?
        Peace or arson?
Approach it as a conversation,
          not a conflict.)

...I pray that the sharing of your faith

may promote the knowledge

of all the good

that is ours in Christ.

                      Philemon 1. 6

(May others see in you

what the indwelling of His Spirit

              does to a person.)

              

Serve the LORD with gladness!

                    Psalm 100. 2

(Even in this.

God is using you mightily.)

...so that in everything
they may adorn the doctrine of God,
                            our Savior.

                              Titus 2. 10

(This is what
the indwelling of the Spirit looks like
                     in real life,
the beauty of a transformed life,
that which only God can do.
Even in this.)
       

Their Redeemer is strong;
the LORD of hosts
                   is His name.

                   Jeremiah 50. 34

(Remember that.
God will deliver.
God will redeem.
God is transforming your life.
                   Even in this.)

...preach the Word,

be urgent in season

      and out of season,

convince,

rebuke,

and exhort,

be unfailing in patience

            and in teaching.

                 2 Timothy 4. 2

(You are a Bible translator.

Preach God's Word in every language

    by all you do and say.)

All scripture
    is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God
                    may be complete,
equipped for every good work.

                  2 Timothy 3. 16-17

(Without Scripture
              tucked away in my heart,
       I am not ready for the day.
God's Word does not just go with me.
God changes me through it.)

...to declare Your steadfast love 

                      in the morning,

and Your faithfulness by night.

                    Psalm 92. 2

(Bookends of my day

and all the way through)

...when he took him bound in chains...

                            Jeremiah 40. 1

(Circumstances not what
                   he would have chosen,
but opportunities
    such as he would not have believed.
Following God
                    does that.
Those things beyond our control
     are not beyond His purposes.)

...aim at righteousness,

godliness,

faith,

love,

steadfastness,

gentleness.

               1 Timothy 6. 11

(Put yourself on that path

       even in this relationship,

       even through this difficulty.

Point at that destination,

pack your bags with nothing else,

     and bear His name.)

Thus says the LORD of hosts,

      the God of Israel:

"Because you have obeyed..."

                  Jeremiah 35. 18

(Even a simple step of obedience

changes the trajectory of your life

         in ways you would not believe,

and bears an testimony to others

                 in indelible ink.)

Call to Me
        and I will answer you,
and will tell you
                great and hidden things
which you have not known.

                         Jeremiah 33. 3

(Lay out Your day for me, O LORD.
Put on my radar today
      a new way in this,
      a new heart in this,
    and Your deeper vision.)

If your enemy is hungry,

  give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty,

  give him water to drink,

for you will heap

coals of fire on his head.

 

                  Proverbs 25. 21-22

(Kindness defuses the situation,

and only goodness 

           overcomes evil.

Practice on the every days.

"What am I bringing to the table?" Show me, LORD,

    something different.)

...found grace

       in the wilderness.

                 Jeremiah 31.2

(God will fulfill

    His purposes there

with incredible surprises

      in unlikely places 

                   along the way.

And you will come to know Him

     in dimensions 

     you have never known before.)

In the latter days
           you will understand it clearly.

                  Jeremiah 23.20

(It is just beyond
      our comprehension now,
too deep for us to understand yet.
Just because "I don't get it"
doesn't negate God's purposes
       in all His infinite dimensions.)

Now may the Lord of peace

Himself give you peace

at all times

in all ways.

The Lord be with you all.

                  2 Thessalonians 3.16

(Even in impossible places.

Even in this situation.

At all times 

       in all ways.

His peace never hinges

    on circumstances)

No good thing

  does the LORD withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

                       Psalm 84. 11

(Even in what

   I cannot yet understand.

Even in what does not

   yet make sense to me.

Walk uprightly 

and trust God for the outcome.)

A word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold

in a setting of silver.

              Proverbs 25. 11

(Not just saying

     what is appropriate,

nor begrudgingly the right thing,

but bearing words of beauty

        in an impossible place

and leaving behind 

             a visible grace.)

If I say,

"I will not mention Him

or speak anymore in His name,"

there is in my heart as it were

    a burning fire shut up in my bones,

and I am weary of holding it in,

              and I cannot.

                       Jeremiah 20. 9

(For we cannot but speak 

              of the Hope within us,

we cannot but live out 

                     His grace in us.

Who will God place 

on my path today?)

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
    whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by a stream,
and does not fear when heat comes.,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.

                       Jeremiah 17. 7-8

(God changes me.
Circumstances only
       deepen me
       even more in Him.)

You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root

      and filled the land.

                         Psalm 80. 9

(Take root downward

         in His Word and in deed,

and bear fruit upward

even in what appears

               to be a barren land.

God changes the landscape.

Give us vision, O LORD,

        for where we are.

Help us to plant BIG trees.)

Yet You, O LORD,

      are in the midst of us,

and we are called by Your name;

leave us not.

                   Jeremiah 14.9

(His Presence

         changes everything,

how I see this dilemma,

how I approach it,

what I ultimately do.

Seek Him through it.

Remember who you are

       and Whose you are.)

Whatever your task,

work heartily,

as serving the Lord

              and not men,

knowing that from the Lord

you will receive the inheritance

                             as a reward;

you are serving the Lord Christ.

                    Colossians 3. 23-24

(Whatever your task today,

                all is sacred work.

May the mind and heart of Jesus

       change not just what I say and do

but why and how.

God will not just bless it.

   God will redeem it.)

Thus says the LORD:

"Let not the wise man

                glory in his wisdom,

let not the mighty man

                glory in his might,

let not the rich man,

                glory in his riches,

but let him who glories

                         glory in this,

that he understands  

                     and knows Me,

that I am the LORD

who practice steadfast love,

justice,

and righteousness in the earth,

for in these things I delight.

                   Jeremiah 9. 23-24

(Neither what I do

nor what I have 

           or have not,

do not define my identity.

But I am His.

Glory in that.

God may 

or may not change your circumstances,

            but He is changing your life.)

Thus says the LORD:
"Stand by the roads,
                 and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is,
                  and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls."

                         Jeremiah 6. 16

(Seek out God's way
       in this situation.
Find a different path through it
                       that honors Him.
It impacts you
and everyone around you.)

Your way was through the sea,

Your path through the great waters,

yet Your footprints were unseen.

                         Psalm 77. 19

(I have no idea what God is doing

in this impossible situation

but I can be fully assured

that God's purposes 

           are deeper than I can know.

God is working incredible things.

I have only to be faithful to Him

           and follow Him into it.

Even when it is hard,

    God is in this thing.)

                

...to lead a life worthy
                  of the Lord,
fully pleasing to Him,
bearing fruit in every good work,
and increasing in
        the knowledge of God.

                       Colossians 1. 10

(Not a "to do" list,
but a "to be" vision
that impacts everything I do
         and all that I am.
What does that look like
     in my life today?)

When the earth totters,

    and all its inhabitants,

it is I 

   who keep steady its pillars.

                     Psalm 75.3

(Not if, 

but when my world is rocked,

if I have I staked my life on God

      in ordinary ways

      and ordinary days,

storms do not shake 

but only strengthen

and deepen my roots in Him.)

...mark those who so live...

                   Philippians 3. 17

(Watch carefully what

the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

          does to a person,

those whose hearts

reflect the mind of Christ.)

From of old no one has heard

      or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen

               a God beside You,

who works for those

who wait for Him.

                       Isaiah 64. 4

(Pray expectantly,

live faithfully,

practice Resurrection.

The evidence of His Presence

is not just what we see

             or have seen,

but what is beyond

  our comprehension.)