Make me to know

      Your ways, O LORD;

teach me Your paths.

                   Psalm 25. 4

(Even in this,

    reveal Your way in it.

Fulfill Your purposes,

even those unseen,

   so far below the surface,

   so beyond what I can see.)

...your loins girded,

your sandals on your feet,

and your staff in your hand...

                  Exodus 12. 11

(Eyes open wide

    and my heart prepared

to what God places 

    on my path today.

That is what faithfulness

              looks like,

ready to roll

even in that which is

          totally unexpected.)

      

Such is the generation

of those who seek Him,

who seek the face

       of the God of Jacob.

                Psalm 24. 6

(It is not that they are impervious

        to circumstances,

but faithful to God in them.

Circumstances only serve

for them to seek Him more.

Seek God,

not the answers or solutions,

     not His blessings,

but God alone.

He will take care of you.)

And God said to Moses,

        "I am the LORD."

              Exodus 6. 2

(God says the same to us,

   "Don't forget who I am."

 Live in that reality.)

     

The LORD said to him,

"What is that in your hand?"

Moses said,

              "A rod."

               Exodus 4. 2

(See the opportunity to obey 

          and His strength to do it,

even with what appears

  to be as insignificant

                    as a stick.)

For truly I say to you,
if you have faith
as a grain of mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
"Move from here to there,"
         and it will move;
and nothing
     will be impossible to you.

                    Matthew 17. 20

(What impossible mountain
            am I facing?
For what impossible mountain
            am I praying?
Or am I just trying to
    dig it with my own teaspoon?
God determines how He moves it,
most often in ways
     we cannot ever imagine.)

             

And Jesus said,

"How many loaves 

             do you have?"

         Matthew 15. 34

(Focus on what you do have,

          not on what you lack.

When God blesses,

He multiplies in dimensions

      we never even realize.)

Some trust in chariots 

   and some in horses,

but we trust in the name

   of the LORD our God.

                 Psalm 20. 7

(God will bring me

      through this.

And in the goings,

God reveals again,

my strength is

        not my own.)

And God spoke to Israel
in visions of the night
and said, "Jacob, Jacob."
And he said, "Here I am."

               Genesis 46. 2

(Am I listening at all?
How do I respond?)

But immediately 

     Jesus spoke to them,

saying,

"Take heart;

  It is I.

      Do not be afraid."

                Matthew 14. 27

(You are not alone in this.

Look toward Him,

   even in this scary place,

   even in what appears

                  impossible.

Follow Him into it,

    aware of His Presence.)

They came upon me

in the day of my calamity,

but the LORD

          was my stay.

            Psalm 18. 18

(Learn to trust God

    in the every days.

"If we do not 

do the running

     in the little ways,

we will do nothing 

              in the crisis."

     --Oswald Chambers)

...it is the smallest of all the seeds,
but when it has grown
it is the greatest of shrubs
           and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of the air come
and make nests in its branches.

                      Matthew 13. 32

(What tiny seed has God given me
          to plant today,
a word, a kindness, an encouragement,
      or even praying for someone?
Faithfulness to God
always bears fruit for others.)

The LORD was with Joseph...

                   Genesis 39. 2

(And Joseph never forgot that,

even in adversity,

       God's purposes fulfilled,

even in success,

        acknowledging God's hand.)

Do not be afraid

        of sudden panic

or the storm of the wicked,

            when it comes,

for the LORD

   will be your confidence

and will keep your foot

           from being caught.

            Proverbs 3. 25-26

(Keep your eyes on Him

       no matter what.

God will bring you

                through this.

Practice His Presence

     even on the most ordinary days

to know Him

                in the crisis.)

And God said to him,

"I am God Almighty..."

             Genesis 35. 11

(All that we need to know.

God is mighty.

God is faithful.

He will bring you

      through this.)

Come to Me,

all who labor

and are heavy-laden,

   and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you,

and learn from Me,

for I am gentle

     and lowly in heart,

and you will find 

         rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy,

and My burden is light.

               Matthew 11. 28-30

("I can't do this," we cry.

And Jesus responds,

   "Good, because I can.

Don't try to go it alone.

            I am with you.

Give that burden to Me.")

And whoever gives

to one of these little ones

even a cup of cold water

because he is a disciple,

truly, I say to you,

he shall not lose his reward.

                    Matthew 10. 42

(the incredibly strong ministry

      of small things,

nothing insignificant

            in God's eyes)

...to bear testimony before them...

                      Matthew 10. 18

(Why am I here in this situation,

       in this particular place?

To share God's redemptive story

          in your own life,

          in your own words,

by how you respond,

by how you love others,

by what you say and do.

People are watching you

     to know if God is real.

At home,

at the office,

even in the most unlikely

        places,

God is working through you.)

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep

and said,

"Surely the LORD is in this place,

and I did not know it."

               Genesis 28. 16

(Right where I am today,

right in this situation,

right even in this turmoil,

           seek Him in it,

know His Presence,

seize that truth.

God has deep purposes

           even in this.)

...called its name Rehoboth, saying,

"For now the LORD has 

             made room for us,

and we shall be fruitful

                      in the land."

                  Genesis 26. 22

(Impossible circumstances

do not limit God,

but in them,

the LORD opens up 

       the incredible yet unseen.

He changes me in the midst,

enlarging my heart and vision

              and scope.

Wherever we are,

no matter the situation

               or terrain,

God is at work.

Rehoboth today!)

...because Abraham obeyed...

                        Genesis 26. 5

(What I do,
how I seek God
     and follow Him,
impacts not just my life
     but everyone around me
               for generations.)

Trust in the LORD

   with all your heart,

and do not rely

  on your own insight.

In all your ways

             acknowledge Him,

and He will make straight

         your paths.

              Proverbs 3. 5-6

(God's guidance 101.

Read slowly,

dwell on these words,

take them with you,

and God will direct your heart

      and change your story,

even right where you are.)

Then God opened her eyes,

    and she saw a well of water.

                Genesis 21. 19

(Seek God and trust in Him,

and He will provide 

                 a way through,

something on your radar

   you may not have seen before,

or overlooked,

or just not yet considered.

He opens our myopic eyes and hearts

       to His incredible ways.)

O LORD our Lord,

how majestic 

    is Your name

in all the earth.

      Psalm 8. 1, 9

(How different

  my life would be

by acknowledging 

           the LORD

at the beginning 

and ending of my day,

bookends of my day

and everything 

          in between.)

Give us this day

       our daily bread...

              Matthew 6. 11

(Just that what I need today.

Look for Him.)

You have put more joy
       in my heart
than they have when
their grain and wine abound.

                Psalm 4. 7

(Joy is
    deeper than circumstances.)

...to the land 

     that I will show you.

             Genesis 12. 1

(The destination

      is not the main event,

but what or whom

God places on your way.

In God's eyes,

there are no ordinary days,

     no chance encounters,

but divine appointments.)

Bear fruit that

    befits repentance.

               Matthew 3. 8

(A life transformed

by His grace

sees different choices

and bears

        new kinds of fruit.

How do I see this situation

                differently

because I am forgiven?)

       

...many are saying of me,

there is no help 

   for him in God.

               Psalm 3. 2

(Let your life 

     prove them wrong.

It is not what happens,

   but how you respond.

Others are always watching,

not to see if you are perfect,

but to see if God is real.)

...but his delight is in

the law of the LORD,

and on His law

he meditates

        day and night.

He is like a tree planted

           by streams of water,

that yields its fruit

            in its season,

and it's leaf does not wither.

In all that he does,

                he prospers.

                 Psalm 1. 2-3

(We have no idea the extent

of God's Word in our lives.

God gives us a new story

even in the midst

of what appears 

             an ordinary day.)

Behold

I make all things new.

             Revelation 21.5

(He is not

 the God of second chances

     but new beginnings,

that which is

        not just different,

but redeemed.)

Happy New Year!