So we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self

          is wasting away,

our inner self is being

   renewed day by day.

For this light momentary

                   affliction

is preparing for us

an eternal weight of glory

   beyond all comparison,

as we look not

to the things that are seen

but to the things

            that are unseen.

For the things that are seen

        are transient,

but the things that are unseen

       are eternal.

         2 Corinthians 4. 16-18

(Everyone struggles

             with something.

The difference as believers

is not if,

not what happens,

  but how we respond to it.

So much more is going on

behind the scenes,

beyond our myopic vision,

always comprehensive

  in His steadfast love.

This affliction or suffering,

uncomfortable, inconvenient,

painful physically

           or otherwise,

is neither random nor punitive,

but what God uses

          and redeems

to prepare us,

swapping the seen

            for the unseen.

We can endure anything

  --even grow in it --

as long as we have hope

  --that on which,

       that on Whom

we can stake our lives.)

O LORD,

There are things we

     cannot comprehend.

Help us to trust You

                in them,

       through them,

not just to an outcome

but step by step

    on the journey itself.

Every day, every step

  manifests a story of

       Your faithfulness.

For we walk by faith

    not by sight,

through the seen

         and the unseen.

But we have this treasure

      in jars of clay,

to show that

the surpassing power

   belongs to God

   and not to us.

We are afflicted in every way,

   but not crushed;

perplexed,

   but not driven to despair;

persecuted,

   but not forsaken;

struck down

   but not destroyed...

      2 Corinthians 4. 7-9

(God works mightily

  through ordinary people

in extraordinary ways.

Yes, it is absolutely

   too much for us,

but not for Him.

We face these

        perilous times

                differently,

because we are believers.

May the grace and strength

             of Jesus

be seen in how we respond.)

O LORD,

We have seen too much

to question You in this.

You have brought us through

      the hard places,

      the miry bog,

and You are not about

          to abandon us now.

Be glorified

  in what we consider

  the difficult

    and even the ordinary.

Let Your grace and

        transformative power

give hope to those around us

      and be seen in us.

Why are you cast down,

            O my soul,

and why are you

   in turmoil within me?

Hope in God;

for I shall again praise Him,

my salvation and my God.

      Psalm 42. 5, 11, 43. 5

(I have always been told that

when a word or phrase is

repeated in Scripture,

   pay attention.

These two psalms

are like songs

    with a repeated chorus.

Why am I struggling,

why do I feel cast down

         and in turmoil?

Sometimes we know,

sometimes we don't.

But the resolution

   is still the same:

       Hope in God.

Our hope is not

in favorable circumstances

or even in what

   we think should happen,

but in God

   in Whom we can

          stake our lives.

"Trust Me in this.")

O LORD,

We may not understand

     the turmoil inside,

where it came from,

or why we feel this way.

But we can know You.

We waste far too much

     time and energy

carrying the awkward burden

  of "what might happen?"

When all along,

    You are with us

    and in this.

We see all things

             differently

  because of You.

Help us to realize

      Your Presence.

For we are

   the aroma of Christ...

         2 Corinthians 2. 15

(What lingers around us

   and as we live?

The stench of selfishness

or the fragrance

  of the love

  and grace of Christ?

When we bring the love of Jesus

wherever we are,

among whomever He places us,

  God reveals

         a yearning for Him.

Am I conscious

   of the captivating fragrance

   of His Presence?)

O LORD,

Guide us into Your steps

     for this day

and for the situations

   we will face today,

aware,

         fully aware,

of Your Presence there.

Leave behind us

not impressions of

   our own importance

  nor the stench of pride

    and selfishness,

but the enticing aroma

of Your love and grace.

...that we behaved

            in the world

with simplicity 

    and godly sincerity,

not by earthly wisdom 

  but by the grace of God.

           2 Corinthians 1. 12

(And that response

    will always look different.

Not what is expected behavior,

or comes naturally,

but through a heart 

  transformed by the

              grace of God.

It is in the midst of crisis 

that the core of 

   what we truly believe 

is revealed in how we act.

Does anyone see

    anything different in me?)

O LORD,

Help us to live 

in such a way

     that You are seen.

Reveal Your way to us,

reveal Your heart in us

   that Your grace

     and Your Presence

is obvious 

         even to us.

      

But that was 

to make us rely

     not on ourselves 

but on God

who raises the dead.

             2 Corinthians 1. 9

(Overwhelming is defined

by what is absolutely 

too much for me

         but not for Him.

God is using this difficulty 

to help me understand 

       my need for Him

and my need to rely on Him.

Relying on self

     is pride and arrogance.

Relying on God

     is trust and faithfulness,

 no matter the circumstances. 

God always leads to

     a completely different path.

And to know fully 

         —once again that—

     God is God,

      and I am not.)

O LORD,

Things are not out of control,

nor in my control,

    but in Your sovereign hand.

Help me

     to seek You first in this,

to pray before You

     and not get entangled 

                in panic and fear.

Help me to rely on You,

in this situation,

for Your way through,

for Your strength,

even in what is unknown to me,

          but not to You.

Please help me

to change my default 

           and triggers

from worry and fear

   to relying on You.

            

Let all that you do

      be done in love.

           1 Corinthians 16. 14

(What is God’s way

in this task,

hardship, 

confusing situation?

What is God’s will?

Love God,

love others,

neighbor, friend, stranger,

those against us,

the oppressed 

       and the oppressor,

even those we do not like.)

O LORD,

Thank you for this hard stuff 

that we might realize 

    the power of Your love.

Please bring Your name

    and Your glory to it,

even the unexpected,

unlikely,

and the impossible miry bog.

Let Your love flow in me

       and through me.

Love is always seamlessly woven in Your will.

The horse is made ready

    for the day of battle, 

but the victory 

        belongs to the LORD.

               Proverbs 21. 31

(Do all that we are able,

knowing that God 

does not just fill in the gaps,

but brings His victory

       and His glory to it

in the unexpected,

the uncountable,

the incredible,

beyond all we can even pray

             or imagine.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

that You don’t call us 

          to be successful 

but to faithfulness to You.

Your victory extends 

far beyond what we can know,

   even in the unexpected,

even beyond our lifetimes.

You redeem

   even what does not look

   like victory at all.

The outcomes 

that only You can bring about 

   are never singular 

                but eternal.

Now I remind you,

brothers and sisters,

of the gospel I preached to you,

which you received,

      in which you stand...

                  1 Corinthians 15. 1

(Not a matter 

    of remembering the gospel

    and receiving it

but recognize how

     the good news infiltrates

  and changes our hearts

and not just for what we stand

         but in Whom.

The gospel 

      is not a cause

but a relationship.)

O LORD,

Deepen the gospel 

          in our hearts 

that Your love 

     may identify us as Yours.

Strengthen our stand in You

        and change our hearts

by the gospel,

for the gospel,

and for Your glory.

...Who does great things 

          and unsearchable,

marvelous things

       without number.

                Job 5. 9

(More than 

    we can ever imagine,

not just in what is visible

       but deeply eternal.

We are surrounded 

by the unexpected,

the unlikely,

so amazingly loving,

   it would astonish us,

          if we only knew.

That is what 

        trusting God means.

Even in this.)

O LORD,

Your love never fails.

You never give up on me.

Open my eyes

   and my heart to 

   Your deeper designs

and embedded strength.

I may not understand or see

        but You are here.

You are in this

    that I may know You more.

Pursue love...

         1 Corinthians 14. 1

(How do I approach 

        this conflict differently 

        because I am a believer?

Did it even occur to me

to bring the love of Jesus there?

Even to this.)

O LORD,

Help us to pursue love,

even when that way

        is not so obvious 

and totally unexpected.

Help us to honor You

    by loving others.

Please align our hearts 

            with Yours.

...for he sought 

the welfare of his people 

and spoke peace

   to all his people.

            Esther 10. 3

(How do we choose 

to approach problems?

Not if difficulty comes along,

     but when.

What becomes our default, 

    our first response,

    our habit of being?

By what are we known?)

O LORD,

Align our hearts

          with Yours.

Make Your love

     what distinguishes us

     as Yours.

Because Your love

  is what matters in this.

      

And who knows

whether you have not come

to the kingdom 

    for such a time as this?

               Esther 4. 14

(God knows.

We are divinely appointed,

strategically placed,

equipped even if we don’t know it,

strengthened by God

     for His purposes,

none of which are divided

    by great or small.

We don’t have to understand,

but just to be faithful 

   in what He has given us,

placed before us

      and in our hearts.

God is in the intricate details,

   of which we are rarely aware.)

O LORD, 

Align our hearts with Yours 

that we would fulfill 

Your purposes in this day.

May we be faithful 

       even in the invisible 

and bring You the honor

       in what is recognized.

Whether we stand before kings

       in matters of life and death,

or faithfully serve 

        the least and last,

nothing is insignificant,

nothing mundane,

nothing ordinary,

nothing You cannot use

      for Your glory.

Why am I here?

Because You are God.

     

I will thank You

   in the great congregation;

in the mighty throng

   I will praise You.

            Psalm 35. 18

(Things

      don’t just happen in a vacuum.

God has given

         each one of us

a story not just

             for His glory 

    but of His glory.

It is a testimony of His Presence,

when told to others,

     when shared with others,

that His power 

     is multiplied exponentially

     in lives far beyond our own,

     in ways we may never be aware.

Not just about me,

not just what God has done,

    but what He is doing.

God never works

       in singular outcomes.

God uses our story

   to encourage others

   and to point others to Him.)

O LORD,

Thank You for the story 

that You are writing 

             in our lives 

     and through our lives.

Remind us

    that You are in this,

    that You are with us,

    that You are using us

         for Your glory.

Use not just our actions 

       but our words 

and help us 

    to see and seize opportunities 

to point others to You.

Even now.

Even in this.

O LORD,

who is like You,

delivering the poor

from him

   who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy

  from him who robs him?

             Psalm 35. 10

(In God's Word,

poor and needy

is not restricted

    to financial matters,

but also covers

the condition of our hearts.

We all face

      foes and fears

      way too strong for us.

Those overwhelming odds

do not define us

but show us our need

          for God

  as protector and provider.

He walks with us

right through

           the impossible.

God sometimes

     delivers from,

   sometimes out of,

but mostly provides

  His supernatural strength

          through,

that we would know Him

                     more.)

O LORD,

What does it take

for us to realize

     our need of You,

that no,

we actually can't do

    this life alone?

Pour Your strength

            into us

that we may know You

   in a whole new dimension,

to serve You

    even in this situation

and that we may

   point others to You.

Deliver us, O LORD,

from whatever

    is too strong for us

by Your strength,

by Your Almighty hand,

for Your glory.

Help us to live

in such a way

    that You are seen

and that Your power

   overflows into

   the lives of those around us.

...who with his brothers

was in charge

of the songs of thanksgiving.

               Nehemiah 12. 8

(Praise to God

--not just in feeling,

            or in words,

   but in music--

is that significant,

not just for God's sake,

but in our own growing

       intimacy with Him.

God invented music

   as a strong language

to express our love.

Songs of thanksgiving to God,

      out of our love for Him,

do not change God's heart

                  but ours.

So important on a daily basis,

       in the ancient scriptures,

   that an entire group of people

   were put in charge

                   of praise.)

O LORD,

When we praise You,

You align our hearts

                with Yours.

We are so filled

         with gratitude to You,

we are beyond words.

And that is when

          music takes over.

May praise to You

   be the song

        that never ends.

Help us to be distinguished

           as Yours

by the songs of thanksgiving

   others hear in our lives.

I do it all

    for the sake of the gospel

that I may share with them

             in its blessings.

             1 Corinthians 9. 23

(What can we do

    for the sake of the gospel?

Whatever God has

           placed before us today.

In His name.

For His glory.

Nothing insignificant

         for His purposes.)

O LORD,

May we be mindful of You

   and mindful of the gospel

in whatever we pursue,

among whomever You

                    appoint us.

Even the least likely

   is a divine encounter.

in which the gospel

     is always seamlessly woven.

Let Your Word, love and grace

   seep into the cracks

and distinguish us

                   as Yours.

Reveal to us

   what the gospel looks like

        where we are today.

...You in Your great mercies

did not forsake them

          in the wilderness.

The pillar of cloud to lead them

    in the way did not depart

    from them by day,

nor the pillar of fire by night

  to light for them

  the way which they should go.

                  Nehemiah 9. 19

(The wilderness

         is a place of wonder,

not of fear.

God does not just go before us.

He guides us

        through the unexpected

in the way we should go.

         Always with Him.

God is not about

       to abandon us now.

Realizing we cannot do it

                      on our own

is the first giant step

     into His great mercies.)

O LORD,

This very day,

this wilderness place,

this trail new to us

but not unknown to You,

    is holy to You.

Bind us to You

           and Your strength.

Align our hearts

             to Your joy.

Every day, O LORD,

every day is a sacred story

      of Your faithfulness.

And this wilderness

      is just a starting point

of Your majesty

     that we cannot yet see.

...for they perceived

that this work

     had been accomplished

with the help of our God.

              Nehemiah 6. 16

(That which

     only God can do

is very different

from what we accomplish

              on our own.

Different direction,

different journey,

  and way different outcome.

Others perceive,

but do we realize,

we could not do this

      without God's help?

Seeking God,

worshipping Him,

listening and responding,

changes more than

              we can know.

God strengthens us

and guides us in His way.

It does not mean

we will always be successful,

   but others are watching

   to see how we respond

            when we are not.

God's purposes always exceed

  the thin veneer of success.

What points others

           not to us

     but to God Almighty?

Faithfulness,

   no matter the outcome.)

O LORD,

May we seek You

in all that we do,

knowing not just

    that Your help is for the asking,

but You are already there,

     waiting on us.

It is not that You show up,

   but we are the ones

   late to the party.

Strengthen our hands, O God.

Take the discouragement and fear

     we were never meant to carry

                     or drag along,

and replace those

             with Your strength.

May others see You

    through how we respond

and the incredible things

                           You do.

Will they revive the stones

out of the heaps of rubbish,

and burned ones at that?

               Nehemiah 4. 2

(It is incredible 

      what God redeems.

It is astonishing 

       what God restores,

the visible 

      out of the invisible,

His glory

     from the impossible.

Jesus says,

     “What do you have?”

God doesn’t make do,

or add to it.

        God multiplies.

He does not provide just enough,

      or more than enough,

but just what we need

             to trust Him more.)

O LORD,

We can’t do everything,

but we can do something.

And that would be

         first of all,

give You our hearts,

an eagerness to follow You,

a listening ear

      and responsive hands.

Nothing but nothing

     is wasted in Your economy.

What have You

         placed before us today?

Not just rubbish 

        and discarded rocks,

but another  opportunity 

            to be faithful to You

and to see 

    what only You can do.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Now I was

   cupbearer to the king.

            Nehemiah 1. 11

(Make the absolute most

of where we are placed today

and be faithful to God

in all He calls us to do.

We are never aware

of how powerfully 

       God is using us

             for His glory.

We are strategically assigned,

no insignificant appointments 

          in God’s eyes.

Throughout the Bible,

God used mightily 

       those beneath the radar,

those who were faithful servants.)

O LORD,

Help us to lead the life

  You have assigned each of us

                 today,

our minds set to serve You in it,

our hearts set to be faithful,

ready and willing

     for any good work,

to respond to needs

and bring Your name to it.

All things are lawful,

   but not all things are helpful.

All things are lawful for me,

   but I will not 

       be enslaved by anything.

                1 Corinthians 6. 12

(Our freedom in Christ means

the strength to say yes

and the discernment to say no.

Knowing when to walk away,

to turn away,

to choose something else

        or a different direction.

It is not just that 

     God will make up for it,

but that choice will change 

      the course of our lives.

Or impact the wellbeing 

        of those around us

        or who comes after.

There is an old saying

   that our decisions reverberate    for seven generations,

        to bless others

        or to burden them.

Sin always promises 

     more than it can deliver.

Sin always says, 

          it doesn’t matter

          and no one will know.

But it always does.)

O LORD,

Thank You for Your Word.

Let it guide us in Your ways

  and take up residence 

  in our hearts and minds.

Our freedom to follow You

  empowers us to walk away

  from whatever enslaves us.

For Your glory.

For Your Kingdom.

In Your name.