Do all things

   without grumbling or questioning,

that you may be blameless

                      and innocent,

children of God without blemish

in the midst of a crooked

                 and twisted generation,

among whom you shine

            as lights in the world...

                Philippians 2. 14-15

(We live in such a broken world

    that even not complaining

reveals that there is something

      different about our hearts.

How we respond in all things

   can point others to God.

Not in a Pollyanna kind of way,

     "just look on the bright side,"

but the sheer reality

  of Whom we stake our hope.

This life is not all there is.

God is using even this.

And Jesus is walking with us

             through it.)

O LORD,

Help us to change our triggers

    from despair and complaining

to hope and grace and

     the reality of Your Presence.

Help us to realize that

          a bad-itude

distracts not just others from You

         but us.

May we go forth into our day

   abiding with You.

And in all appearances,

that should look

             radically different.

 

...knowing that I am put here

       for the defense of the gospel.

                   Philippians 1. 16

(Whether in favorable circumstances

        or in the hard stuff of life,

God has strategically placed us

           in time and place

to bring the name of Jesus here.

We are all on special assignment.

Knowing that

               changes everything.

This situation is not random,

   but a divine encounter

   in God's grace and for His Kingdom.

Where God has placed us today

          --even in the unexpected

          and the most unlikely--

is not without eternal purposes,

               but for the salvation of others

       and for His glory.)

O LORD,

Make our hearts and eyes

         sensitive to Your leading

to divine appointments

    and sacred encounters,

in the most familiar

           and the most unexpected,

that we would bring

              Your name there

   and You would bring Your glory.

Others are watching continually

    to see how we respond differently

             because we love You.

 

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways My ways,

               declares the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher

       than your ways,

so are My ways higher

       than your ways

and My thoughts

       than your thoughts.

                   Isaiah 55. 7-8

(Because God is God,

      and we are not,

of course there will be

    many things we will

                  not understand,

    many things

       beyond our comprehension.

But He is God,

and He is good,

and we can trust Him.

          Even in this.)

O LORD,

We humbly come before You,

knowing very little,

but that we can know You

        and trust You

and be faithful in whatever

   You have placed before us.

Help us to seek You

   and seize every opportunity

to bring You glory

and to love You

     and trust You even more.

 

For you shall not go out in haste,

and you shall not go in flight,

for the LORD will go before you,

and the God of Israel

     will be your rear guard.

                    Isaiah 52. 12

(When we walk with God,

there is no space nor energy

   to carry bulging suitcases of fear.

And no need to bring that with us.

Leave it behind.

   Anxiety claims to help,

   and never does,

      but takes all the seats.

God goes before us.

God walks with us.

God has our back.

The past, the now, and the next.

       "I am with you."

And His Presence makes

            all the difference.)

O LORD,

Help us to walk with You

       even today,

       even in this hard place,

       even in Your strength.

Order our day.

Guide our steps.

Direct our thoughts.

Align our hearts

                 with Yours.

You surround us, O LORD,

     before, behind,

     and right here with us.

Help us to not miss the view.

 

The Lord GOD has given me

the tongue of those

              who are taught,

that I may know how

   to sustain with a word

   him who is weary.

             Isaiah 50. 4

(We are surrounded

       by those who are weary

       and discouraged

       and desperate.

We are strategically placed

     in times of need

             by God Himself

to bring His name there,

to sow the gospel

    with love and grace

and tangible encouragement.

A good word

      brings strength for today

      and hope for tomorrow,

far more than we know.)

O LORD,

You have strategically placed

each one of us

            in a little corner of the world

to bring Your light there,

to nourish those around us

          with grace

     like gentle falling rain,

to encourage others

     even in their struggles

     which may be invisible to us.

When we are mindful of You,

       we are mindful of others.

Help us to be mindful to sustain

        those who are weary.

      

 

...walk in a manner

worthy of the calling

to which you have been called...

            Ephesians 4. 1

(We have not been called

   to a job,

             but to Christ.

And as a result,

   our lives will look very different.

God has infused His love

          and grace in us.

He has infected us

     with His Spirit.

And we live with newness

   even in the familiar.

How do we approach this situation

     with a different heart

because we are

           called by Him?)

O LORD,

Help our walk with You

    point others to You,

not to ourselves.

May Your Spirit guide us

   in the manner

   that brings You glory

even in the ordinary.

May even how we walk

    be different today

and honoring to You.

 

Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing,

now it springs forth,

     do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

     and rivers in the desert.

                     Isaiah 43. 18-19

(These hard things

  and difficult journey,

             God redeems

to strengthen us,

to guide us,

to know Him more.

Just part of the training program

    that we may not just survive

    but thrive in what is to come.

Along the way,

we learn not to despair over circumstances

     but seek to bring His name

                         even here.

God is bringing about something new.

   We just cannot yet see it.

We have just to be faithful.

    And "Trust Me in this.")

O LORD,

Help us to not be enslaved

   by our past,

knowing that it does not define us,

           but You redeem.

And we can know You more.

Your work in our lives

         is far deeper than we

         can ever know.

Your power bubbles up within us

     for Your glory,

                  even in this.

Help us to keep our eyes on You.

Empower us to not miss

           what You are doing.

 

"...and you are My witnesses,"

           declares the LORD,

"and I am God."

                Isaiah 43. 12

(That's why we are in this space,

this relationship,

this difficult situation,

even in what may appear

    as a mistake

    or wandering in the wilderness.

We are anointed and appointed

     to bring the name of Jesus

                   to this place

                   and to these people.

We are not just randomly here,

    but strategically positioned

to love others into His Kingdom,

to make Him known,

that many may realize

      that there is a God

      who does not just exist,

but calls them beloved.)

O LORD,

We walk into a day full of Your glory,

   Your sacred encounters

   and Your divine appointments.

May we be aware

        not just of opportunities

                        to speak of You,

        but of people desperate

        to know You.

We have witnessed Your love

              and grace in our lives.

Please empower us

     to speak of You today.

 

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

   the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary,

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has not might

          He increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,

   and young men shall fall exhausted;

but they who wait for the LORD

          shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.

                      Isaiah 40. 28-31

(Not that we have not known or heard,

      but have forgotten

that the LORD is our strength.

We are not alone.

         We walk with Him,

         we run with Him,

even in this wilderness,

   which is not so barren after all.

God brings His glory

       to the most unexpected places.

It is not that God changes the landscape,

    but opens our eyes and hearts

    to what is really here.

Nothing random at all.)

O LORD,

You are our strength.

Help us to never forget that.

May we run with You today

  and know we are not alone.

Sow Your glory in this place

    and through our work.

Help us to know that

   it is You

   who increases our strength.

 

...for I bear on my body

     the marks of Jesus.

            Galatians 6. 17

(What in my life identifies me

      as a follower of Christ?

What attributes,

what selfless actions,

what attitudes toward others

       and circumstances,

what responses to need,

what expressions of

             unexpected love?

"What are the marks of a heart

that has been radically changed

        by the grace of God?"

              -- Timothy Keller)

O LORD,

May we bear the marks of love

    throughout the day

that give evidence

    that You have changed our hearts

and that we love You.

May Your light shine through us.

Help us to bear witness

and point others to You

    in word and love

in whatever we face today..

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness,

           and self-control;

against such things

    there is no law.

            Galatians 5. 22-23

(Not just a familiar list of nice attributes

               to rattle off,

but life-transforming

      and countercultural tools in our toolbox

that empower believers

           to respond and live differently.

How do we approach the difficult,

          messy, hurtful and hard

   with a different heart?

        Choose as much fruit as applies.

The fruit of the Spirit

        is always in season,

        life-changing,

and with no expiration date.)

O LORD,

It is not what we do or achieve,

but the fruit of Your Spirit

    alters our choices

    and abundantly blesses the lives of others,

even in unexpected times,

             unlikely places,

   and in ways unforeseen.

Please show us Your way in this.

And align our hearts with Yours.

 

But he who is noble

       plans noble things,

and on noble things

             he stands.

          Isaiah 32. 8

(What is good and right

     does not just happen,

             but is intentional.

May our hearts

   be aligned with God's.

May we be known

   by our integrity,

        our grace,

        and our love

   --even for unlikely people

    and in unexpected places.

May we be known

                   as His people.)

O LORD,

Help us to not just

      stumble along,

but to look ahead

              and all around

and plan to do what is good

         and right in Your sight.

Empower us to be noble,

   even in the difficult

   and among the difficult.

Grant to us the wisdom

  not to react,

       but how to respond differently

       because we love You.

 

For God alone, O my soul,

wait in silence,

for my hope is from Him.

He only is my rock

   and my salvation,

               my fortress;

I shall not be shaken.

On God

   rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock,

       my refuge is God.

               Psalm 62. 5-7

(As became evident to David,

      engraved over and over again,

his strength

          was not his own,

                      but from God.

Notice that this verse is

     all in present tense.

David was a mighty man

   because God was his rock.

And he knew it.

His refuge was God,

           not a place to hide,

 but from Whom he went forth

                strengthened.

Not in grand achievements,

nor beating the odds,

nor successes,

nor favorable circumstances,

      but for God alone.

Even in the narrow squeaks,

    even in insurmountable situations,

even when David could not yet see

               how it would unfold,

    his hope was in God.

"Trust Me in this,"

          God whispers,

even to us.)

O LORD,

For You alone,

             we seek

not answers,

       or new paths,

       or open doors,

       or even what You do,

but for You alone.

You are our refuge,

        our strength,

   the refreshment of our souls.

Help us to stake our lives

              on You.

You guide, provide,

and transform the course of our lives.

Empower us

   to bless You today

and others along the way.

 

O LORD, You are my God;

I will exalt You;

I will praise Your name,

for You have done

            wonderful things,

plans of old,

     faithful and sure.

             Isaiah 25. 1

(And even before

we see how things turn out,

 evident

       and right before us,

even in the midst

      of not comprehending the mystery

            or struggling in a miry bog,

we can trust God.

We just don't yet see

          His sacred designs,

    and His plans for each of us,

    woven seamlessly in eternity.

It is not just what He does,

    but Who He is.

God is God.

And we can trust

   not in circumstances

          that change without notice,

but in God who

                never lets us go.)

O LORD,

We can come to You in praise

before we see any outcomes,

before we see

        the light at the end

        of this long tunnel

                or rocky trail.

Nothing is random.

We are anointed by You

   and appointed by You.

We come to You

     when our hearts are faint.

We come to You

     when our hearts are overflowing.

We go forth strengthened

                from Your refuge,

not by what we see,

         but in knowing You.

 

With God

we shall do valiantly.

It is He who will

   tread down our foes.

              Psalm 60. 12

(Don't leave God

   out of the equation.

Our enemies and foes

    are whatever we fear,

    both real and imagined.

God whispers to us,

  "Do not be afraid.

           I am with you."

Even in the tumult,

   even in the high scary places,

                   even there,

God shatters our fears

  and releases us to go forth

into His glory

         and deeper purposes.

This situation is an opportunity

    to "trust Me in this."

We can live differently.)

O LORD,

Help us to know You more

   through these circumstances

and follow You closer.

Help us to realize

"It is no longer I who live,

   but Christ who lives in me."

                (Galatians 2. 20)

And because of Your Presence,

we can approach anything

        with a different strength

     which is not ours

                     but Yours.

Banish our fears

   that we may serve You

                 deeper still.

We love You,

   and we are Yours.

 

When they cry to the LORD

    because of oppressors,

He will send them

   a savior and defender,

and deliver them.

And the LORD

   will make Himself known...

                Isaiah 19. 20-21

(God is right here,

     not just showing up

     in the nick of time,

but walking with us

          through the hard stuff,

delivering us in unexpected ways

      and in unlikely places.

And He brings His glory to it,

   not just to our attention,

but that others will see it too.

People are watching

        what grace does in us.

"Perhaps there is hope

                 for me too.")

O LORD,

Make Yourself known today

   wherever we are,

   in whatever we do,

   in how we respond

      and how we love others.

Help us to be a blessing

     in the midst of the earth

                  (Isaiah 19.24)

that You are recognized,

and Your glory

      gets all over everything.

You are our strength.

You surround us

      with Your steadfast love

and surprise us

        by Your Presence,

even in this.

 

Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear

    to words of knowledge.

             Proverbs 23. 12

(Practice a teachable heart.

Train ourselves in

           how to listen,

           how to discern,

           and how to respond.

Being teachable

     is not following anything,

but seeking wisdom in everything,

      willing to follow Christ in this,

      and aligning our hearts

                     with His.

How we respond to instruction

       reveals our heart condition.

The wise know

   that they don't know everything,

but can trust the God who does.)

O LORD,

We don't know what to do,

but our eyes are on You.

            2 Chronicles 20.12

Guide our hearts

          as we seek You,

not just a right answer.

Order our steps.

Direct our thoughts.

For Your glory,

       even in this.

 

I cry out

       to God Most High,

to God who

       fulfills His purposes for me.

               Psalm 57. 2

(We are never in a

            random or stagnant place,

   never where God cannot use us

           for His purposes,

           for His glory,

           for those surrounding us,

                and those yet unborn.

There are no small obediences.

God is at work,

      both plural and very present.

"For great in your midst

   is the Holy One of Israel."

                 Isaiah 12.6

God does not just fill our time,

     nor our meager plans,

but fulfills His eternal purposes

      for each one of our lives.

Even in this.

Even when we don't get it,

we have only to be faithful.

     God does the rest.

And we will someday

               stand amazed.)

O LORD,

Order our days.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Help us to move past

          being willing

to being responsive,

    shoes tied on,

steadfast at our post,

faithful in whatever

     You place before us.

Your eternal purposes 

     for each one of us

are woven seamlessly

   even in what we don't recognize.

We stand this day

           in Your Presence.

 

You have kept count

           of my tossings;

put my tears in Your bottle.

Are they not in Your book?

...This I know,

   that God is for me.

              Psalm 56. 8-9

(Not for us to believe,

     but one step deeper:

to know

          and to trust Him.

He has stayed up all night

     right at our side.

In God, we can trust.

How differently would I approach

          this difficulty,

          this mystery,

          all this scary stuff,

not that there is nothing

             to be afraid of,

    but if I trusted God?

Not for a particular answer,

       but trust Him?)

O LORD,

Not one of us

   does not struggle with something.

But You are with us.

You have been with us all along,

     strengthening, guiding, providing,

   even in the midst of brokenness.

Be glorified, Almighty One.

Even in what we face today.

Help us to trust You more.

You lead us through our Red Sea,

You carry us through

              the troubled waters,

not just to the other side of this,

   but You bring us closer to You.

 

But I will trust in You.

           Psalm 55. 23

(Trust is not what can we do

    when we can't do anything,

but our daily pattern,

      our daily practice,

      our daily response

to the joys

          and to the difficulties.

Trust is not dependent

      on understanding the known

      or the unknown,

not the past or now or next,

but trusting

          in the God who does,

who transcends all circumstances,

      all manner of time and place,

and loves us

          more than we can know.

What is His promise, 

                 what is our response?

"Trust Me in this.")

O LORD,

We all struggle with many things.

But You are with us

           on this path.

And we can trust You,

               even in this.

Help us to listen,

       to pray to You,

and to respond

   by following You.

You hear our prayers and

            calls to You.

And You redeem

    not just our circumstances,

    not just the hard stuff,

    not just the scary places,

                     but our souls.

Align our hearts with Yours

   that we would trust You

                    even more.

Behold, God is

          my helper;

the Lord is

   the upholder of my life.

             Psalm 54. 4

(What does it take for us

   to grasp that reality?

Stress is trying to do it

               on our own.

Anxiety is leaving God

   out of the equation.)

O LORD,

We all struggle with something

  because we live in a

              very broken world.

But all changes

   because You are with us.

You are our helper.

You are our strength.

You uphold us.

More than we know.

More than we can imagine.

Alert our hearts

            to Your Presence.

Help us to approach

           these difficulties differently

   because we know and love You.

 

 

Even if I am

    unskilled in speaking...

              2 Corinthians 11. 6

(What matters is not our skills,

           or strengths,

           or achievements,

but our faithfulness to God.

"It is not I who live

         but Christ who lives in me."

When we are faithful,

     seek Him in our work,

     pursue with excellence

             what is before us,

     God redeems.

Even if we are unskilled

     --or think that we are--

   even then God can use us

     when we give Him our all

   when we do our very best,

   and let Him bring about the outcomes..

God will redeem,

       if we are faithful to Him

and respond in love to Him

      in whatever

        He has placed before us.

God gives the strength and wisdom 

       and how to navigate.

God brings His glory to it.

Even in this.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize that

    Your work is not divided

    into great and small.

Neither is ours.

There are no small obediences,

     no insignificant work,

     no unusable details.

Almighty One,

      use us for Your glory today.

Help us to approach our work

       with a new heart

       and to see Your hand.

Your work is not limited

       by our skills

       or our lack of them.

Be glorified in this.

Align our hearts with Yours.

 

...to the area of influence

God assigned to us,

to reach even to you.

               2 Corinthians 10. 13

(God has strategically positioned us

        for His glory

              in this time and space,

to sow, plant, nurture,

        and point others,

even the most unlikely,

even those who aren't listening,

                  to Him.

God grants each of us

         a sphere of influence,

         a personal patch of ground

             in an enormous field

in which to be faithful to Him.)

O LORD,

Even when it doesn't appear

      we are doing anything at all

      that makes a difference,

help us,

empower us,

strengthen us

          to remain faithful to You.

When we realize we have been anointed

              and appointed,

You change our vision

to respond differently,

think differently,

navigate even the difficult,

and approach everything

    -- even this--

          with a new heart.

 

The point is this:

whoever sows sparingly

   will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows bountifully

   will also reap bountifully.

               2 Corinthians 9. 6

(God's fundamental law

            of multiplication.

What are we bringing to the table?

What are we bringing to the altar?

What is my heart in this?

God multiplies every good work,

   far beyond what we can see.)

O LORD,

You are able

to multiply and redeem

    what we sow in Your name.

Help us to be faithful

   in the little patch of ground

     You have placed before us

that You may grow a magnificent forest

            that will outlive us

for Your Kingdom

             and for Your glory.

 

...as we carry out

        this act of grace

that is being administered by us

    for the glory of the Lord himself

and to show our good will.

                 2 Corinthians 8.19

(Grace is not a matter of what

    we drum up in ourselves,

but living under God's divine influence

         on our hearts

and how He is reflected in our lives.

Is grace the first thing

              we reach for

    in working out this situation,

    in navigating troubled waters,

    in how we approach others?

The thing about grace

   is that it gets all over everything.

What we do today

            may be forgotten tomorrow,

but the reverberations of grace

       have no expiration date.)

O LORD,

May our lives be marked

        by Your grace

that You are glorified

             in all things,

nothing too small,

                nothing too great.

Help us to not just see

               opportunities for grace,

      but our need for You.

We can't do it on our own.

Empower us to step out of the way

    and let Your grace rule in us.

It is not we who live,

    but You who live in us.

And that always looks

               very different,

       inside and out.

   

 

In the morning sow your seed,

and at evening

        withhold not your hand,

for you do not know

which will prosper,

            this or that,

or whether both alike

      will be good.

            Ecclesiastes 11. 6

(God appoints us to

   work with excellence

            in all things.

There are no small things,

nothing mundane,

nothing God cannot multiply.

We cannot foresee what is

    taking root and bearing fruit

and how God is using us

                   for His glory.

Even an unexpected kindness

             is not ever forgotten,

nor our attitude

               in unlikely places.)

O LORD,

You work beyond our comprehension

         through what is before us

    and in how we respond.

Nothing but nothing

        is insignificant to You.

Grant to us the immense favor

    of participating with You

    in stepping into the needs

                   all around us.

Bear Your fruit

            even in this.

For Your glory indeed.

 

Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may tell that next generation

           that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

    He will guide us forever.

                    Psalm 48. 12-14

(God is the one who fortifies us,

     who protects us,

     who strengthens us.

Seek every corner and tower

   to know Him more,

even in this difficulty,

even in this strange place.

Take advantage of every opportunity

       to grow in Him

because not only are we changed by Him,

but the lives of those yet unborn

          and those right now around us

are directly impacted by

     how we know God.

This is God.

He will guide us forever.

Who in our lives has imprinted

           that truth in us

by their faithfulness to Him?)

O LORD,

Help us to be faithful to You,

knowing not just that

             others are watching,

but desperate to know You.

May we seek You at every turn

    that our trust may be

                    in You

in every dimension

and every aspect of our lives.

You are our strength.

You are our refuge.

You are God.

 

...but we were afflicted at every turn

--fighting without and fear within.

But God,

Who comforts the downcast,

comforted us

        by the coming of Titus,

and not only by his coming

but also by the comfort

with which he was

         comforted by you...

              2 Corninthians 7. 5-7

(The key words in this passage are

            "But God."

Don't leave God

            out of the equation.

He is already here.

And the grace and encouragement

    we extend to others

gets all over everyone.

No expiration date.

It always carries on and rises up

   to bless those

           we do not even know.)

O LORD,

You are working far deeper

   than we can comprehend,

not just in times of palpable blessing

   but even when

   we walk in the shadows.

Help us to realize

   and grasp with both hands

                Your Presence.

Comfort our hearts

  and empower us with Your love

  to comfort others

       and point them to You.

 

Be still

   and know that I am God.

              Psalm 46. 10

(And we are not.

In what are we submitting to Him?

In what are we trying to

     tell Him what to do?

Are we grabbing God

               like carry-out?

Or being still

          even in this moment,

 listen and respond,

   as He reveals Himself to us?)

O LORD,

Help us to come before You

and not attempt

     to take Your rightful place.

Guide us into this day

    with all the choices we make,

    with all the decisions

             surging upon us,

that we would bring You glory

    in all

    and whatever we do.

We are anointed

            and appointed by You.

Help us to have a still heart,

   knowing that You are God.

Order my day.

Guide my steps.

Direct my thoughts.

Align my heart with Yours.

And confirm Your Word in me.

 

...that those who live

might no longer live for themselves

              but for Him...

              2 Corinthians 5. 15

(How does that look like today

in the choices we make,

in how we respond

    both to circumstances

    and to others,

in what we bring to the table,

       even in our attitudes?

How differently do we approach

   this relationship or situation

because we walk with Christ?)

O LORD,

Grant to us a new response,

not what is natural to us

  but supernatural through You,

not what is expected

       but with unexpected grace.

Change our triggers

    from hurt and anger,

    from being wounded

             and striking back,

to responding with love

             and healing.

We abide in You today.

And that should look

            very different

    as we live for You.

Align our hearts

              with Yours.