But You, O LORD,

         reign forever;

Your throne endures

         to all generations.

              Lamentations 5. 19

(Am I forgetting that

God is mightier than anything

       that is before me?

But this,

but that,

but what about?

        But You, O LORD, reign.

Fear and anxiety flee

    at the sound of Your Holy name).

    

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

(The whole message of the Bible:

   God loves you more than you can know.

Dwell on that.

May this truth repeat in a continual loop

             in your thoughts,

His fresh mercies to feast on,

His song resounding in your heart 

                          through the day).

Pour out your heart like water

before the presence of the LORD.

                Lamentations 2. 19

(God never intended 

for you to carry this

               by yourself.

He loves you more

   than you can even imagine).

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He that made us,

        and not we ourselves;

we are His people,

and the sheep

             of His pasture.

                 Psalm 100. 3

(You are loved.

You belong.

You are made by God.

Dwell on that truth,

     live in the reality

     of His steadfast love.

It is He 

who made the earth

                by His power,

who established the world

                by His wisdom,

and by His understanding 

    stretched out the heavens.

...the LORD of hosts

                      is His name.

                Jeremiah 51. 15, 19

(He is far more than able 

 to handle what is before me,

                even this.

"Be faithful to Me.

Trust Me in this.

Follow Me into it.

       I am working.")

O sing to the LORD a new song,

for He has done

            marvelous things!

                          Psalm 98. 1

(Find yet another way to praise Him,

                   yet another reason.

Do something different today

                 to bless Him.

Thinking,

doing,

saying outloud.

Praising God

         changes your heart

         and restores your vision).

As for you,

always be steady,

endure suffering,

do the work of an evangelist,

fulfill your ministry.

              2 Timothy 4. 5

(You are on personal assignment,

strategically placed

         by the King of Kings.

Bring the name of Jesus there).

    

     

But fear not, O Jacob My servant,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for lo,

I will save you from afar,

and your offspring

   from the land of their captivity...

Fear not, O Jacob My servant,

                    says the LORD,

for I am with you.

                   Jeremiah 46. 27-28

(Fear not

     O [insert your name here] My servant,

says the LORD,

            for I am with you.

Live in the reality

                   of His Presence,

wherever you are today).

...that the LORD your God

may show us the way we should go,

and the thing that we should do.

                     Jeremiah 42. 3

(Am I willing to follow God

          into this?

Am I listening for Him,

am I listening to Him?

Never ignore

    the power of the supernatural.

God is at work in you

  and powerfully around you,

His purposes deeper 

           than you can know.

His steps are revealed

         in unexpected ways

and on the most ordinary of days).

Let the favor of the LORD

           be upon us,

and establish 

  the work of our hands upon us,

yea, establish the work of our hands.

                              Psalm 90. 17

(In His name,

for His kingdom,

for His goodness sake,

for His glory.

God's fingerprints

     all over who we are

     and what we do).

But as for you, man of God,

shun all this;

aim at righteousness,

godliness,

faith,

love,

steadfastness,

gentleness.

                     1 Timothy 6. 11

(How do I handle this mess,

    this volatile situation,

even this most ordinary of days?

These are the tools in your toolbox.

Don't leave home

    without them in your pockets,

    without them in your heart.

Live with the purpose and intention

of one who has been called by Christ.

As a friend once told me,

    put yourself on His path).

So also good deeds are conspicuous;

and even when they are not,

      they cannot remain hidden.

                      1 Timothy 5. 25

(Not for recognition,

not for our own glory,

  but meeting the needs of others

                 for His glory,

and planting fruit trees

      that will outlive us.

Fruit sometimes takes

    a long time to ripen).

The word of the LORD

came to Jeremiah a second time,

while he was still shut up

        in the court of the guard...

                     Jeremiah 33. 1

(Why am I here

     in this impossible place?

Maybe just to be able

          to hear You more.

God sees our situation

           very differently,

with promise,

with His profound purposes,

for His glory

      even when

      -- maybe especially when --

                 I don't understand).

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,

and the LORD will reward you.

                 Proverbs 25. 21-22

(There is a different way in this,

not a natural expected reaction,

   but a supernatural response.

Love is always the most powerful,

and there are no small kindnesses).

In the latter days

     you will understand this...

                Jeremiah 30. 24

(Just because I don't understand

doesn't mean God is not at work

                                      in this.

These hard things

  beyond my comprehension

are usually the most profound.

"Trust Me in this.")

But seek the welfare of the city

where I have sent you into exile,

and pray to the LORD

               on its behalf,

for in its welfare,

   you will find your welfare.

                 Jeremiah 29. 7

(You are not here

 in this hard place,

difficult situation,

among impossible people

       for some random reason,

but strategically placed by God

for His glory,

for His kingdom,

in His name).

Faithfulness will spring up

          from the ground,

and righteousness will look down

           from the sky.

Yea, the Lord will give what is good,

and our land will yield its increase.

Righteousness will go before him,

   and make His footsteps a way.

                         Psalm 85. 11-13

(There may not always be a path,

but God always provides a way.

Sometimes a highway,

sometimes the next step).

        

...but let him

who has My Word

speak My Word 

               faithfully.

         Jeremiah 23. 28

(Be bold in sharing,

be bold in living out

           the gospel,

in every good work

                  and word,

strategically placed

            for His glory).

Heal me, O LORD,

  and I shall be healed...

            Jeremiah 17. 14

(Done.

God heals,

God redeems,

God strengthens.

"Trust Me

 that you are healed."

Let Him now 

use that healing 

over you,

in you, 

through you,

    for incredible good).

If I say,

"I will not mention Him,

or speak any more in His name,"

there is in my heart as it were

a burning fire shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,

           and I cannot.

                Jeremiah 20. 9

(God has strategically placed you

to bring the name of Jesus 

           wherever you are today.

Seize every opportunity

in word and deed and grace).

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 the 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

(Trust is,

          trust in.

Take root,

           bear fruit).

...and may the Lord make you increase

       and abound in love to one another

and to all men...

                      1 Thessalonians 3. 12

(Love is the distinguishing mark 

        of Christ dwelling in you.

Not react,

      but love 'em back,

       no matter what.

A life changed by Jesus

        looks different,

responding in His love wherever

   and among whomever

        God strategically

             places you today).

Yet You, O LORD,

     are in the midst of us,

and we are called by Your name...

                         Jeremiah 14. 9

(You want to know your calling,

   your identity,

   your significance?

You are called 

               by the LORD your God,

personally appointed for His glory,

strategically placed for His kingdom,

            and never alone.

"Follow Me into this day.

     I am right here with you."

Even here in this mess.

Even in this 

                for His purposes).

    

Let your speech always be gracious,

seasoned with salt,

so that

       you may know 

how you ought to answer every one.

                      Colossians 4. 6

(How?

 With grace, forgiveness and love.

People may not remember what you said,

but they will always remember

               how you treated them.

Wherever you are today,

someone is watching,

someone is listening,

to know this God of yours).

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,

says the LORD."

                     Jeremiah 9. 23-24

(In what do I glory?

 Striving to know Him more

     changes the course of my life

and everyone around me).

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

(What is Your way in this, O LORD?

Fill us, O LORD, with the grace

        for the task ahead today).

...that in everything

He might be pre-eminent.

                 Colossians 1. 18

(Not a part,

   not even a big piece,

not prominent,

        but pre-eminent.

Pre-eminent in the original Greek

         means "first."

And when Christ is first,

there are no ordinary days,

    only His extraordinary ways.

"Follow Me in this.")

...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

(How does that play out today?

A life transformed by Christ

       responds very differently.

Even in this).

Not that I complain of want,

for I have learned,

in whatever state I am,

          to be content.

I know how to be abased,

and I know how to abound;

in any

       and all circumstances

I have learned the secret

of facing plenty and hunger,

abundance and want.

I can do all things in Him

       who strengthens me.

                  Philippians 4. 11-13

(In whatever state I am in.

That includes Tennesee,

New York,

     and Massachusetts,

no matter where,

no matter among whom,

no matter what circumstances,

    learn the secret of Christ within

-- which is no secret at all).

    

...and it shall be known 

that the hand of the LORD 

is with His servants...

                     Isaiah 66. 14

(Live in such a way

that others see

a difference in you.

Even in this

          before you today).

Before they call

     I will answer,

while they are yet speaking,

     I will hear.

                  Isaiah 65. 24

(God does not just

      make a way.

He guides me through

         the impossible).