Hezekiah trusted

     in the LORD,

the God of Israel...

For he held fast

      to the LORD.

He did not depart

   from following Him...

And the LORD

         was with him;

wherever he went,

      he prospered.

He rebelled against

  the king of Assyria

and would not serve him.

            2 Kings 18. 5-7

(Trust the LORD,

even through what

   we cannot understand.

Hold fast to Him

  on the roller coasters

                 of life,

  of which there are many.

The LORD is with you,

  giving the strength

  and courage to

       rebel against sin--

turn your back, walk away,

and refuse to go there.

God says, "Follow Me

   into a different outcome."

The adversary always says,

"This one time doesn't matter."

And it always does.)

O LORD,

We all struggle with something.

Help us to rebel against sin,

to follow You fully

    into a far different life,

to walk with You,

and to point others

     to Your love and grace.

Grant us the courage

to do what is right and loving

and honoring to You,

   even in this situation.

Help us to hold fast to You

as You hold fast to us.

May You be glorified

    in impossible places.

 

And he did what was

right in the eyes

of the LORD...

       2 Kings 15. 34

(It is in what we choose

how to be

and what to do

on the most ordinary days

    ---even today---

that determines

the trajectory of our lives.

Faithfulness to the LORD

is built in layers,

   day by day,

His strength in us,

His grace through us.

Am I willing to follow

the LORD in this?

How do I approach this

          differently

because I love God?)

O LORD,

Come and transform us,

soften our hearts to You

that we would do

  what is good and right

  in Your eyes.

May Your vision and grace

change our temporal view

of what is all around us

and among whom

       You have placed us.

Even among the rebellious,

even among those

       who irritate and annoy us,

that we would plant Your Word,

bring the healing of Jesus,

and do what is right,

not just convenient or

     for our own comfort.

May Your steadfast love

      guide us,

for in how we worship You,

we see others

and ourselves.

Help us, O LORD,

to love and be gracious,

to know what is right

and do what is right

            in Your eyes.

 

 

Then Elisha said,

        "Shoot,"

and he shot.

And Elisha said,

"The LORD's

      arrow of victory..."

        2 Kings 13. 17

(Inquire of the LORD,

listen, respond,

obey and claim

the LORD's victory in this,

no matter how it appears.

We may not yet see

          God's outcome.

It may not be

      fully ripe or done,

and the story not yet over.

God most likely has

  a lot deeper purposes

  beyond our understanding.

Am I seeking

       my idea of victory

       or God's?)

 

O LORD,

We cannot know

        the outcomes,

but we can

  faithfully follow You

as You lead us.

Strengthen us to obey

even when

it seems overwhelming.

Because that is when

Your hand is

     seen more clearly.

May we bear Your name

      into this situation

and seek Your victory

      and honor and glory.

 

...for I have many

         in this city

who are My people.

            Acts 18. 9-10

(Wherever you are,

seek out God's people.

They are there.

You are not alone.

Find them,

attach yourself

       to the fellowship.

You need them

   more than you can know.

They need you too.

God never intended for us

        to go it alone.

May we act, respond,

worship, serve and love

             together.)

O LORD,

You have many people here,

no matter the surroundings,

no matter the wilderness,

no matter the unknown.

Help us

     to be one of them.

I am always amazed

how Your people

           fit together,

providing friendship

and fellowship

and loving each other

in unlikely places

and among the unexpected.

You have placed us

strategically,

   even right here

for Your Kingdom.

No random encounters.

Just divine appointments.

We all can use

    a little encouragement

from Your people.

We are one of them.

We are one with them.

Even our with-ness

      is a witness.

Important Notice About Du Jour

 

Dear Friend,

I have been sending out daily verses and praying those verses on Du Jour for twenty-one years at this point.  Many thanks for joining me on this journey through Scripture, verse by verse.

As of Thursday, July 1, 2021 (yes, this coming Thursday), Google will no longer be supporting their email subscription feed mechanism for blogspot.  My daily posts will continue on www.worddujour.blogspot.com, but I will be using a different email feed. 

There should be no interruption in the flow, but if you are no longer receiving Du Jour in your email inbox, as of July 1, and wish to continue receiving it daily, please shoot me an email at nightlytea@gmail.com.  I will make sure to keep it coming to you.

Thanks for reading!

mamakaren

Important Notice About Du Jour

Dear Friend,

I have been sending out daily verses and praying those verses for twenty-one years at this point.  Many thanks for joining me on this journey through Scripture, verse by verse.

As of Thursday, July 1, 2021 (yes, this coming Thursday), Google will no longer be supporting their email subscription feed mechanism for blogpost.  My daily posts will continue on www.worddujour.blogspot.com, but I will be using a different email feed. 

There should be no interruption in the flow, but if you are no longer receiving Du Jour, as of July 1, and wish to continue receiving it daily, please shoot me an email at nightlytea@gmail.com.  I will make sure to keep it coming to you.

Thanks for reading!

mamakaren

He is my steadfast love

        and my fortress,

my stronghold

        and my deliverer,

my shield,

and He in whom

        I take refuge.

             Psalm 144. 2

(How do I see God?

How do I know Him?

How we view God

   directly impacts

how we see circumstances,

how we see others,

and how we see ourselves.

Our relationship with God

directs the trajectory

               of our lives.

And what I am going through

increases not just

my knowledge of Him,

but deepens my knowing Him.

"What comes into our minds

when we think about God

is the most important thing

                      about us."

        -- A. W. Tozer

           Knowledge of the Holy)

O LORD,

In You we live and move

and have our being (Acts 17. 27).

We can trust You

   even through what

   is before us,

   behind us,

   and what comes next.

Help us to remember

   that You call us Beloved.

Help us to run with You

          into this day.

 

 

Let me hear in the morning

     of Your steadfast love,

for in You I trust.

Make me know

   the way I should go,

for to You I lift up my soul.

...Teach me to do Your will,

for You are my God!

Let Your good Spirit lead me

        on level ground.

            Psalm 143. 8, 10

(In seeking God

at the break of day

He sets me on a different path

    through my day.

I see the day

and how to respond differently

because I trust Him.

For in You.

For to You.

For You are my God.)

O LORD,

Help us to focus

not on just a level path

with no cracks in the pavement

          or potholes,

but to realize that

You always lead us

      on a scenic highway

with even more to explore

and discover about You.

Even in the unexpected.

Every day is a

  chronicle of Your faithfulness,

no matter if we

   understand it at the time

                   or not.

May others see a difference

in our lives in what we do,

how we respond,

how we love people,

because we love You

        and seek You.

 

But as one was

    felling a log,

his axe head fell

    into the water,

and he cried out,

"Alas, my master!

 It was borrowed."

Then the man of God said,

"Where did it fall?"

When he showed him

            the place,

he cut off a stick

and threw it in there

and made the iron float.

          2 Kings 6. 5-6

(God cares for us

even in what just appears

     as the "small" stuff.

Have I considered

coming before Him

with this concern

    and this "detail?"

We are not

        alone in this.

God can make

    the iron float.

Sometimes it takes us

  to trust Him

  with the situation

  and the outcome.)

O LORD,

We are all faced

with struggles

and lost axe heads

of varying degrees.

Open our eyes

       and our hearts

that we may realize

not just a solution but

Your Presence with us.

What shall we do?

Help us to trust You

           even in this,

to listen, to hear,

     and to respond to You.

You are not taken

     by surprise in this,

but You are already in it .

You are already guiding us

            through.

Be thou our vision

        and our strength.

You are our God.

May we not live as if

            You are not.

But his servant said,

"How can I set this

before a hundred men?"

So he repeated,

"Give them to the men,

that they may eat,

for thus says the LORD,

"They shall eat

and have some left."

        2 Kings 4. 43

(Just another instance of

God's fundamental law

          of leftovers:

     "Trust Me in this."

The actual provision

      is not the focus,

nor an achievement,

but to point us

       to the Almighty.

Where God guides,

        He provides,

even in unlikely ways,

especially in

    impossible situations,

that we will

know that He is God,

and we are not.)

O LORD,

Help us to grasp

         Your vision

   in Your provision.

You, O Almighty One,

do not just have

  this situation covered

  with just enough,

but supersede the need

   with divine dimensions,

that we would see You

and trust You even more.

You have placed us here

to be fully faithful

and point others to You.

Do those around us see

  Your indwelling in us

and the difference

  by how we love

and that in You

  we stake our lives?

 

 

And Elisha said to her,

"What shall I do for you?

Tell me;

what have you

          in the house?"

And she said,

"Your servant

has nothing in the house

except a jar of oil."

        2 Kings 4. 2

(God sees our situation

                differently.

Just watch what

  God does with

         "nothing."

As Bible teacher

Nancy Guthrie says,

"God does His best work

         with empty."

What God has placed

before us is not

    empty and barren,

but what He is redeeming

        in the present tense.

Even in what

    I cannot yet see.

Am I being faithful

  with my jar of oil?)

O LORD,

Help us to be faithful

in what is before us.

No matter how small

it may appear to us,

You use our need

to draw us closer to You.

The situation might not

     be ripened yet,

and we ourselves may not

     be ready,

but we can be faithful

   in what we do have

and faithful to You.

You anoint our heads

             with oil.

Our cup overflows.

No matter what.

...that you may

   bring salvation

to the ends of the earth.

        Acts 13. 47

(It is not unusual

for God's people

       to wonder

"What in the world

   am I doing here?"

But there are

    no random situations,

just divinely appointed ones.

This verse quotes

             Isaiah 49. 6,

that we -- yes, even us--

may be a light to those

who do not yet believe,

even right where we are,

geographically,

relationally,

situationally,

where God has

    strategically placed us.

Even among the most unlikely,

we are divinely appointed

     to bring His name there

and point others to Him.)

O LORD,

Help us to see

our difficulties,

our struggles,

our joys,

      differently

because we know You.

Help us to

          live out the gospel

in impossible places.

Even the uttermost

    is not unknown to You,

but where we have not

   yet discovered

   nor yet explored

to bring salvation,

even right where we are.

May others even here

  see something different

  in us

and that would be You.

May we live in such

a loving way

   that You would be seen.

Even in this.

 

On the day I called,

You answered me;

my strength of soul

     You increased...

Though I walk in the

   midst of trouble,

You preserve my life...

The LORD will fulfill

   His purpose for me;

Your steadfast love,

           O LORD,

   endures forever.

    Psalm 138. 3, 7-8

(Even in the act of

   calling on the LORD,

He increases our strength

because we have

         turned to Him.

Seeking Him

and not just an answer

or a solution

or a way out of struggle,

      but God Himself.

The LORD is fulfilling

  my life

  and His purposes,

       present tense,

even in what we

  cannot yet see.

Not just way in the future,

not just eventually,

   but in the now,

   right in the midst,

     even in trouble.

If it were easy,

   would we seek Him?

He does not just

come to us

    in our time of need,

but reminds us,

     "I am with you.")

O LORD,

Your strength far exceeds

anything we can imagine.

Your strength takes us

  not necessarily

         away from trouble,

but right through it,

leaving in its wake

a witness of Your power.

Help us to approach

  our troubles and

     our struggles

differently

because we know You.

You are leading us

into a deeper intimacy

            with You.

Even in this,

be glorified, O LORD.

 

The people of Israel

encamped before them

like two little

      flocks of goats,

but the Syrians

      filled the country.

And a man of God

came near and said

  to the king of Israel,

"Thus says the LORD...

I will give all this

   great multitude

   into your hand,

and you shall know

   that I am the LORD."

          1 Kings 20. 27-28

(In the overwhelming,

    God comes near

    and redeems

    in unexpected ways

    those who trust Him.

Scripture is filled

      with these accounts,

not that we would win

or be the best,

but that we would know

    who is the LORD,

and it is not us.

Odds have no power

      over the LORD,

indeed He turns them

           inside out.

Always has.

That we would know Him

and make Him known.)

O LORD,

You never promised

life to be easy

or our struggles few,

but that

You are with us,

and that You are God,

        even in this.

May we know You

a little more today.

It is not in us,

   but in You,

       Almighty One.

And to know that

You redeem

not just our circumstances,

        but our very lives.

Help us to approach

     our struggles differently

because we know You

and seek to

        make You known.

Nothing is wasted

    to bring You glory,

no detail too small,

no struggle too great.

 

...to Him who alone

   does great wonders...

to Him who led His people

   through the wilderness,

for His steadfast love

        endures forever.

          Psalm 136. 4, 16

(We are surrounded

      by His wonders,

both visible and invisible,

those that are realized,

those that are ripened,

     and those not yet.

God brings us through

      the wilderness,

not a place to fear,

but to discover

and explore

and grasp His greatness.

God is with us.

We have only to

  faithfully follow,

not just to the end of it,

but absorbing

           the journey.

He never gives up

               on us.

We all possess

a chronicle of

       His faithfulness,

that which has been

           inscribed

and what is

   still being written down.

Not just the next,

       but the now.)

O LORD,

You guide us in ways

we do not expect.

You make a way

where we can see no way.

There are no dead ends

       on Your path,

just redirecting our hearts

            towards You,

providing and protecting

in ways we may

            never realize.

Help us to trust You

   not in our footing,

but in Yours,

willing to take another path

        as You direct,

but also willing to stay faithfully

          on the course,

right where we are.

       With You.

Help us to not miss You

            in the now,

Your wonders all around us.

 

 

O LORD God of Abraham,

    Isaac and Israel,

let it be known this day

that You are God in Israel,

and that I am Your servant,

and that I have done all

   these things at Your Word.

Answer me, O LORD,

answer me,

that this people may know

  that You , O LORD,

                  are God..."

           1 Kings 18. 36-37

(For what do we pray?

Telling God what to do

and when to do it?

Or coming before Him,

that He may be known.

God always answers

in His timing

and His unexpected ways,

not that we will be right

and esteemed

and get our way.

But by recognizing God,

others are pointed to Him.

It is God whom we follow.

It is He that we trust.)

O LORD,

As we persevere in prayer

 to You, Almighty One,

change our hearts

and that which we seek,

that we may seek You

   and not just an answer.

And in the praying,

we find something deeper,

that we may not have

          realized before,

that we did not even

          imagine.

And that would be You.

We ask above all

   to know You

and that You will be known.

The jar of flour

shall not be spent,

and the jug of oil

shall not be empty...

       1 Kings 17. 14

(No way that I can do

      what is before me.

That is exactly where

I need to be,

realizing my need for Him.

When we trust the LORD,

He brings us through to

a different place

    of intimacy with Him.

God protects,

God guides,

God provides.

Living in that reality,

God opens up

        the unexpected,

far beyond

      our myopic vision

      or skill set,

in ways that we recognize

  His glory in it.

If this situation was easy,

  would we even seek Him?)

O LORD,

You go before us

and have already

   provided what we

   cannot yet see.

Guide us in ways

  of faithfulness to You

that You will be seen

  and be glorified.

May we stand

    under Your banner

--in God we trust--

that You would not just

     guide us 

     and surprise us,

but point others to You.

There is more to our story

than an empty jar.

 

 

And Asa did

what was right in

the eyes of the LORD.

       1 Kings 15. 11

(There are

no little decisions

or insignificant actions.

All we do

and say

and pray,

how we love God

        and others,

whether we trust God,

if we are faithful

                 in this,

profoundly changes

not just us

or those around us,

but to the

      furthest generation.

There are

no small obediences.

"Trust Me in this,"

means exactly that.

Listening

and responding to God

changes our actions

by changing our hearts.

How do I approach

     this differently

because I am a believer,

because I love the LORD?)

O LORD,

You have placed us

strategically in time

and place

and circumstances,

divine appointments

     and encounters

to bring Your name here

and bring You glory.

Help us to do

what is good and right

and loving

in this situation,

knowing You are

         using us

and our practices

even in ways

    we cannot yet see.

 

...and many believed

       in the Lord.

          Acts 9. 42

(We have no idea

the ever-enlarging

  impact of faithfulness

      to the Lord,

to even a single act

      of obedience,

to bringing the

  name of Jesus there.

Responsive to those

  God puts on our path

changes everything

about a situation,

how we serve Him,

how we love others,

what God does with it.

Nothing random in this,

but from God Himself.

Just because I

   don't understand

   or see any results

doesn't restrict

      God from working

     mightily through it.)

O LORD,

Help us to be faithful

in following You

into this day and new week.

Make us aware

  of Your divine appointments

and the needs of others,

both visible and invisible.

Use us that many may

      believe in You,

more than we can know.

Help us to

  bring Your name here

and love others

 right into Your arms.

 

And they said to him,

"If you will be a servant

to this people today

and serve them,

and speak good words

to them

when you answer them,

then they will be

your servants forever."

          1 Kings 12. 7

(Am I responding

  or am I reacting?

I cannot change others

but I can change myself.

The outcome

is not based on their action,

but my response.

What is my heart in this?

In this situation,

kindness in words and deed

would have changed

the course of history.

It still does.)

O LORD,

Help us to not react

   to circumstances,

but respond to You.

To love You,

be loved by You,

and act that way.

Fill us with

boatloads of grace,

knowing that love

and kindness

are unexpected

       in this world

and always point others

            to You.

Being nice is easy,

being kind

      takes awareness,

giving grace

   always brings Your glory.

Make us aware,

            O LORD,

of loving others

even in the unexpected

and among the

          most unlikely.

Even right now.

Even in this.

 

Now an angel of the Lord

said to Philip,

"Rise and go

toward the south

to the road that goes

down from Jerusalem

           to Gaza."

This is a desert place.

And he rose and went.

And there was

         an Ethiopian...

           Acts 8. 26-27

(Responding to God

even when we don't

    yet know why,

leads us right into

His divine appointments.

I don't have to know why

to be faithful to Him.

There is more than

    "a reason for it."

God's purposes

far exceed our own vision,

deeper than

   what we can see from here.

God redeems.

God multiplies.

Philip did not just

            rise and go.

He ran.)

O LORD,

Help us to be sensitive

         to Your nudges

and responsive to You.

Help us to be energized

for Your Kingdom

and in Your Name,

even by that which

     should drain us.

Help us to

      run toward You,

walk with You,

and abide in You.

You reveal wonders

even in unlikely places.

 

...may He maintain the cause

of His servant and the cause

of His people Israel,

as each day requires,

that all the people

            of the earth

may know that

   the LORD is God;

there is no other.

Let your heart therefore

be wholly true

  to the LORD our God,

walking in His statutes

and keeping

     His commandments,

as at this day.

          1 Kings 8. 59-61

(Along with

His divine appointments,

God grants His strength,

    as each day requires,

as we walk with Him

over the mountains,

through dark valleys,

or into the impossible.

Our with-ness with Him

is a witness to others

    that He is God.

There is something

     different about us.

And that would be

              Jesus.)

O LORD,

You go before us,

walk with us,

come behind us

as each day requires,

to cover us

with Your wisdom,

strength,

courage,

      and grace.

Maintain our cause,

cover our bases,

give us Your words,

change our hearts

that we would

    fully follow You

    and bear witness

that others

may come to know You,

         Almighty One.

 

And King Solomon sent

and brought

      Hiram from Tyre.

He was

   the son of a widow...

And he was

   full of wisdom,

   understanding,

and skill for making

   any work in bronze.

          1 Kings 7. 14

(God chooses

  the unlikely and obscure,

those who are faithful

in whatever work

God has appointed us

    to bring Him glory.

Not just getting

        the job done,

but doing it with

 beauty and excellence,

no matter if anyone

         even notices.

Am I sensitive to what

God has placed

    around me,

    before me,

         to serve Him?

Nothing is insignificant

     in God's economy,

no detail overlooked.

Right where we are,

in whatever we are doing,

    sacred to the LORD,

a place, time, opportunity

         to worship.

Even in this.)

O LORD,

We choose to follow You

into this day.

And to see not tasks

and duties and the mundane,

but as divine appointments

                 from You,

to bring You glory.

We will never know

  how profoundly

        You are using

what we do,

how we do it,

even our attitudes

  to point others to You

and for Your Kingdom,

far beyond

        our lifetimes.

 

But now

the LORD my God

has given me rest

        on every side.

There is neither adversary

        nor misfortune.

And so I intend to

build a house for the

name of the LORD

             my God....

        1 Kings 5. 4-5

(If we wait for the ideal

circumstances,

for all well and good,

nothing will get done.

But if the peace of God

      indwells us,

the peace that totally

  makes no sense

  in this crazy situation,

how differently

we respond to

     every opportunity.

His peace does not

   on circumstances,

but His peace totally

 changes our hearts

   how I see things,

   how we see

     what is before us,

   how we respond,

how we follow Him

     into this day.

God is with me.

Nothing random at all.

God does not just

   rescue or help.

God redeems.)

O LORD,

May Your peace

crowd out any fear

or anxiety

or distraction.

May Your peace

prevail in our hearts

that we would realize

 Your way and power,

and that others

  would witness You.

Seeking and following You

will not dispel

         the hard stuff,

but grant us

Your strength and peace

to be faithful to You

as You bear fruit

          through it.

Even now.

Even this.

 

And the Word of God

   continued to increase,

and the number

   of the disciples

multiplied greatly

          in Jerusalem,

and a great many

  of the priests became

obedient to the faith.

            Acts 6. 7

(God does not just add.

     God multiplies.

God enlarges

and multiplies His Word,

even among the unexpected,

even in those we would

         never suspect,

even in those we do not

     realize are listening.

God's Word is never stagnant.

God plants great

         and mighty trees

that never cease

         to bear fruit.)

O LORD,

May we be true to Your Word

and not just bring it with us

or hide it in our hearts,

but plant the seeds

           every day,

all around us.

For Your glory.

For Your Kingdom.

For the furthest generations

      to know You more.

 

But during the night

an angel of the Lord

opened the prison doors

and brought them out,

and said,

"Go and stand

         in the temple

and speak to the people

all the words of this Life."

And w;hen they heard this,

they entered the temple

           at daybreak

and began to teach.

          Acts 5. 19-21

(God opens the doors

in unexpected ways,

unlikely times,

and unusual situations

to provide a way

for His Word to be taught.

He opens locked doors.

He opens hearts

   locked on the inside.

He makes a way for

   His Word to infiltrate.

We have only to be

   faithful and follow

and bring the name

       of Jesus there.

Even here,

even now,

God is pursuing

     those around us.

Even the most unexpected.)

O LORD,

You bring us into this new day

and into this new week,

chock full of opportunities

to bring Your Word

to those all around us.

May Your Word

    infiltrate our hearts

and be manifest

    in what we say,

    how we pray,

    how we love others,

even those

      who don't love back.

Open the prison doors

   for Your Word

and soften hearts

   to Your gospel

and astonish all of us

by what You say

            in Your Word

and by Who You are.

Help us to be very aware

   of bringing Your name

   wherever we go

       in word and deed,

in attitude and action,

responding in love

   and with Your Word.

 

As the LORD lives,

who has redeemed

my soul

out of every adversity...

           1 Kings 1.. 29

(God never promised

that life would be easy

without trouble and turmoil

and narrow squeaks

     in this broken world,

but He promises

          each one of us,

"Fear not.

      I am with you.

      Even in this."

Trusting God

is knowing that

     He is redeeming.

What is the story

that God has given

each one of us

to point others to Him?

God is in this.)

 

O LORD,

Wherever we are,

among whomever,

whatever the circumstances,

however impossible,

we cannot but speak

of what we have seen,

heard and experienced

             in You.

We rely on Your power

  to live boldly

and graciously

      in Your name,

      for Your kingdom,

      for Your glory.

You are already

working and redeeming.

Help us to be

        faithful to You.

But Peter said,

"I have no silver and gold,

but what I do have

     I give to you.

In the name of

Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

     rise up and walk."

             Acts 3. 6

(Not dwelling on what

I do not have

or who I am not,

but faithful to God

in what I do have

and of what I am able,

even if I never

     see the outcome.

God bears perennial fruit

far beyond our lifetimes,

our eyesight,

our skill set,

and our obedience.

It is not in me,

            but God.)

O LORD,

Help us to be faithful

in responding to You,

not reacting to

        circumstances,

but seeking You in it.

You place each of us

in unexpected places

and among the

   most unlikely people,

to bring Your name,

Your amazing grace,

Your steadfast love,

and Your glory

    right where we are.

May we be faithful to You

in whatever or whomever

You place on our hearts,

      or on our path,

even in the hard stuff,

even in what we

      do not understand.

You are working still,

even beyond our

    field of vision.

 

For You equipped me

with strength

for the battle....

       2 Samuel 22. 40

(On the most ordinary days,

in tiny steps of obedience,

in choosing to be faithful,

in words and deeds

    we don't often realize,

in experiences

    odd or common,

    hard or easy,

in trusting Him

            a little bit more,

day by day,

God weaves His strength

into our hearts

    visibly and invisibly.

Whatever we face,

we are already equipped

        by His strength,

with a different vision

      and a different heart.

In unexpected ways

   and unlikely places,

God works the victory

   among the faithful

on more levels and

in more dimensions

than we will ever know.)

O LORD,

It is not in spite of

      our inadequacies,

but because of them,

we experience Your power

and strength

and Presence.

Help us to realize that

   we all fall short

and that is when

   Your glory appears.

You have chosen

          the unlikely

all the way through

    the Scriptures

to show us our need

           for You.

Grant to us Your strength

        for what is now

        and next

for Your glory in this,

in Your name,

for the sake of others

     in Your Kingdom.

 

 

...descendants

     of the giants...

       2 Samuel 21.

         16, 18, 20, 22

(Over and over again,

no matter how big

and daunting our fears,

both real and imagined,

we come, stand,

pray and respond,

in the name of the

     LORD Almighty.

Remember and claim

the chronicle of

       His faithfulness,

not just in the past,

but in the now

    and in what is next.

"Trust Me in this.

     You are not alone.

     I am with you."

Even now.

Even in this.)

O LORD,

We face a new day

and new unknowns

and now what is next.

Help us to not cower

        before the giants,

but respond in Your name,

to bring Your faithfulness

     and grace to the table.

And to see the situation,

the difficulties,

the impossible people

    with a different heart

    and mind and vision

             from You.

Your narrative in our lives

       continues.

You continue to work in us,

changing us,

loving others,

and bearing witness

         through us,

not in our power

    but in Yours.

May Your glory be shown

         in this.

Let not my abilities

nor my inadequacies

or fears

 ever get in the way of that.

We do not know

         what to do,

but our eyes are on You.

    (2 Chronicles 20. 12)

 

...but that night

     they caught nothing...

He said to them,

"Cast the net on the

right side of the boat,

and you will find some."

So they cast it, and now

they were not able

to haul it in,

because of the

      quantity of fish.

          John 21. 3, 6

(God guides us

       into the unexpected,

one step of obedience,

and then another,

in ways that

       bless a multitude.

There are

    no small obediences.

We have no clue how

powerfully He is working,

among unlikely people

and in unexpected situations.

Even in this.)

O LORD,

We cannot know

   how You are working.

But we can stake our lives

  on Your Presence in this.

We cannot yet see

    what You are doing

and how You will

          use this,

but we can stay faithful

even in the mystery.

The fish are there.

We have only

       to trust You,

and faithfully follow You

        into this day.

 

Great peace have those

who love Your law;

nothing

can make them stumble.

             Psalm 199. 165

(God's peace is not based

on an absence of conflict

or favorable surroundings,

but on His Presence

   right in the midst

   of the unlikely,

       unexpected,

     and the impossible.

God's peace surpasses

all understanding

and does not often

make sense in the situation,

because our wellbeing

and His peace are based

on His steadfast love,

His Word,

His Presence,

and not on

     shifting circumstances.

God is doing a lot more

  --infinitely more--

than just bringing us

    through a tough spot.

His peace and His hand

are not limited

     by our emotions.)

O LORD,

May we seek You

and not just an answer,

nor even "a great day,"

but to pursue You

    and know You more.

Help us to

approach conflict

and difficulties

and even the

  deep valleys differently

because we love You.

Help us to see and seek

             something more

than our own comfort

      and convenience.

May we bring Your peace

to the table

and always be the first to

   hold out the olive branch.