What Matters

 

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter

          under heaven.

          Ecclesiastes 3. 1

We cannot do everything today,

but we can do something.

God does not differentiate

     between small and big,

because nothing in His sight

         is ever insignificant.

What has God placed before us

   at the beginning of this day?

Above all, to seek Him,

worship Him through our work,

listen to His voice

   through prayer and His Word,

and serve Him.

What is the one thing?

Never an off-season or wrong time

      to be faithful

   and bless the Almighty.

How does that look in this day

   and in this work ahead of us?

To plant, to heal, to build up,

to be kind and gracious,

          and pray a lot.

Do we insist on our agenda 

                   or His?

God does not hand us

  a list of impersonal instructions.

God whispers, "Follow Me."

Not to check off a to-do list,

       but to be.

Not even just mindful of Him,

     but responding to Him.

O LORD,

Every matter before us today

          matters a lot

   in Your Kingdom.

Guide our thoughts and steps

         and attitudes

as we seek You today

   in all that is on our plate.

Order our day.

Order our way.

Order our loves.

And align our hearts

    in faithfully walking with You.

You set our course.

You bring forth incredible fruit

  in so many unexpected ways.

Out of Control

 

For the love of Christ

    controls us....

          2 Corinthians 5. 14

What is driving us

     in this volatile situation?

Motivating us 

     in drudgery?

Keeping us going

   on the hard rocky road

      or the well-beaten path?

The love of Christ in us

   covers all circumstances,

not one size fits all,

  but custom designed.

If the love of Jesus

         controls us,

even in this particular situation,

      everything changes.

New game. New playing field.

          New coach.

How differently we 

   are able to respond,

in what we see and pursue,

  and what new direction we take,

  even in the same old difficulties.

All things are suddenly approached

         with a heart

    continually refreshed by Him.

What if we let Jesus

   take the controls?

We no longer look

         only to outcomes,

but see how His love

   changes everything.

O LORD,

We ask that You take control

      of this situation,

all while realizing we never were.

You are already here,

   waiting for us to be willing

to follow You into this

  and not blaze our own trail.

Turn our overwhelming

   into Your overflowing through us.

And to realize our out of control

        is already in Yours.

Open our eyes

   not to difficulties

   but to see them as opportunities

to love others right to You.

Guide us in unexpected ways

  and extraordinary love

and grant us the courage

     to be faithful to You today.

 

Not Falling Apart After All

 

I know that You

       can do all things,

and that no purpose of Yours

    can be thwarted.

             Job 42. 2

The most powerful hook in this verse

       is the phrase can do.

In the Hebrew, it means

     not just making something,

but prevailing in it,

overcoming, enduring, having power,

being able, have strength over,

        and be the victor.

This is not the social iteration of 

                 believe in yourself,

 nor even wishing for an particular outcome,

     but knowing 

     and realizing God is in it.

And that is what it's all about.

No purpose of God's

             can be thwarted,

cut off, made inaccessible,

shortened, or diminished.

Because His redeeming 

       stands on all things,

what is understandable,

           even what is so hard.

Trust Me in this.

O LORD,

We can come before You

  with our confusions

and struggles

     and mysteries,

knowing that You are the Almighty,

and none of this

           is a surprise to You.

Things are not falling apart,

   but Your purposes coming together

in unexpected ways

          and unlikely situations.

Help us to follow You through

in whatever we encounter today,

walking with You

              and not alone.

Because We All Struggle With Something

 

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.

           2 Corinthians 4. 17-18

What we are facing may be

  hard, difficult and confusing.

But that does not mean

   that God is not in it,

forming something new in us.

I was struggling with an exercise

       in a fitness class,

when I realized that I had not

even reached the hard part yet.

But I knew it was not unending,

nor random, nor defeating,

but designed to strengthen me,

not just for what I can see

      right in front of me,

but for what is yet unseen,

both the hard and the joyous.

O LORD,

Remind us that we are

      not alone in this hardship.

And through these difficulties,

   You are forming something new

for our well-being, 

for Your goodness sake,

and to energize us

   for what we do not even know.

Your weight of glory in this situation

    far exceeds anything we endure.

We cannot see it,

              but You do.

Build our muscles of faithfulness,

     dear Father.

Help us to see

    this struggle is not an exercise in futility,

         but strength training.

 

All The Things That Overwhelm Us

 

Not that we are sufficient

            in ourselves

to claim anything

   as coming from us,

but our sufficiency is from God

who made us competent....

             2 Corinthians 3. 5-6

"I can't do this on my own."

Those are often

    the hardest words to admit.

But they are the most vital

  in getting the task done.

The significant difference

  is realizing --and admitting--

our daily need for Christ,

not seeing ourselves

             as the heroes,

     but His working through us,

depending on God

to not only provide enough

     but to complete it.

He does not just show up.

      He shows us the way.

God helps us

    to color outside the lines,

beyond the mere necessary,

   to enlarge His grace.

Whose glory do we seek in this?

God walks us 

        through the impossible.

He empowers us to do

  what we cannot do without Him. 

O LORD,

Please take our insufficiency

    into Your hands

and infuse Your power and

    strength and goodness

    into us and this situation.

We need You.

You provide not just enough

    but more than enough,

because You know

    what is needful and lasting.

Help us to be faithful

 and seize opportunities

    to proclaim,

"This was not in me,

              but God."

     

A Million Moving Parts

 

Does not He see my ways

   and number all my steps?

                 Job 31. 4

Absolutely.

Every thought and action,

every trail we choose,

whether we react or respond,

our unfolding joys and sorrows,

in service or selfishness

 ---God does not just see

       but reaches for us,

covers us with steadfast love,

and calls to us

        Come to Me in this.

He sets forth His way

  one steppingstone at a time.

In one prayer and then another,

      God reveals Himself.

Every moving part

        is not just in His hand,

but all things hold together.

O LORD,

You see us.

You hear us.

You love us

  more than we can know.

You do not only

     number our steps,

but You hold our hands

in climbing and descending.

When everything seems

      to be spinning,

focus our eyes on You.

Help us to trust

       Your sovereignty

over this one huge thing

                   today,

or a million moving parts.

 

Why Is This So Hard?

 

But that was to make us

rely not on ourselves

but on God

who raises the dead.

           2 Corinthians 1. 9

Why is this situation so hard?

Running into brick walls,

over cliffs,

swallowed up by potholes,

delays, reschedules,

nothing according to plan

    --at least our plans. 

Why is it so difficult?

Not that God is trying

   to give us a hard time,

but God does not want us

to think or claim that

  we did this on our own

or we are doing it alone.

We need Him

   far more than we realize.

If things were not hard,

would we even recognize

our desperate need for Him?

God never intended us

   to do it alone

or live without Him.

O LORD,

Help!  We need You.

We cry to You.

And You respond.

You specialize in impossible

     situations.

And we have one right now.

You don't just show up.

You show us the way through.

May we seek You

  and give You all the credit

  and the glory due Your name,

even in what we cannot yet see.

We are leaning

     on Your everlasting arms.