In Their Sight

 

In their sight...

for I have made you

a sign

  for the house of Israel.

       Ezekiel 12. 6

(God has strategically placed us.

In their sight

   is repeated six times

   in this passage.

Others are watching us

  continually to see

if our relationship with God

  creates a different

     response in us

and if we actually live out

         our faith.

Move freely among them

as a witness and testimony

    of the living God.)

O LORD,

Speak through our words

   and deeds

to those who do not

       know You.

Help us to walk continually

  with You

even in awkward situations

 ans volatile spaces

to bring You glory

and point others to You.

What Am I Doing Here?

 

...He had sent a man

           ahead of them,

Joseph,

who was sold as a slave.

          Psalm 105.17

(God had far deeper purposes

         already embedded.

God did not abandon Joseph.

He designated him

  in that strategic place

                    and time

for the goodness

  and welfare of many.

Just as God has placed

      each one of us

      in this very day,

even in the strangest

  of circumstances.

We may be there

    to prepare the way

    for others.

But God always

      prepares our way.)

O LORD,

Thank You for the story

and faithfulness of Joseph

to encourage us

   to stay steadfast,

no matter

       the circumstances.

You go before us.

You dwell within us.

You show us

         a better way

  through whatever

  we face today.

And give us

    Your strength.

            

Can you hear Me now?

 

And he said to me,

"Arise,

go out into the valley,

and there I will

          speak with you."

        Ezekiel 3. 22

(When we respond to God

  and follow Him

  into the unexpected,

  among the unlikely,

  into the familiar, unknown

             or unusual,

God speaks to us

     in amazing ways.

"Can you hear Me now?"

It is not that we give Him

     margin to speak,

but leeway for ourselves

            to listen.

It is not a one-way conversation.

But, "There I will speak with you.")

O LORD,

What incredible things we miss

   because we have not

   made space to listen to You.

And even more,

  missing a deeper relationship

           with You.

You open our eyes

                and our hearts

to what is really

            before us.

And Your Presence with us.

You reveal to us

  not just a way through,

but align our hearts

          with Yours in this.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Writing It Down

 

In the thirtieth year

    in the fourth month,

on the fifth day of the month,

as I was among the exiles

     by the Chebar canal....

              Ezekiel 1. 1

(There are no ordinary days,

whether the one before us now

  or the ancient ones.

To be exact,

   this chronicle was written

   in the summer of 593 BC.

The specificity of time and place

  establishes the accuracy

               of the scriptures,

bearing none of the marks 

    of legend or hearsay.

God cares about real places,

   real people,

   and very real situations.

Including ourselves.)

O LORD,

Thank You for the faithfulness

   of the saints who have

   gone before us,

who were faithful to You

  even in messy circumstances,

and left behind a written record

  of Your mighty hand on them.

Help us to be such a witness

  to those who are yet unborn

and to all those

     who surround us now

that they would know that

   You are the LORD.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

The Fine Art of Restoration

 

Restore us to Yourself,

               O LORD,

that we may be restored.

          Lamentations 5.21

(The point of restoration

is recognizing that

God is who we desire,

           after all.

Restoring is not going back

  but going forth refreshed,

  repaired, renewed,

  and redeemed.

We can walk into this day

         differently.

We return to a familiar point,

               but changed,

  turning about and

  seeing it for the very first time.

We want something new.

God says,

     "Let's try this again."

He does not bring us

   necessarily to a new place,

but God brings us

              to Himself.)

O LORD,

We look to so many things

  to provide

  what only You can give.

Restore our first love

           for You.

You make all things new,

   even our hearts in this.

Help us to not just

       see You in this situation,

but walk renewed with You,

right in the midst

      of the impossible.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

We Can't Help But Sing This Song

 

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope.

The steadfast love

           of the LORD

           never ceases.

His mercies

  never come to an end.

They are new

      every morning.

Great is Your faithfulness.

     Lamentations 3. 21-23

(God says,

  "If you remember anything,

   remember this:

       I am with you."

Our hope is not

   in circumstances,

                but in Him.

His steadfast love

     and extreme mercy

have no expiration date.

He has given each of us

  a chronicle of His faithfulness,

past, present and future.

On that we can depend.)

O LORD,

Bring to the surface

         of our thoughts,

infiltrate our despair,

banish our worries,

by calling to mind,

not just what You do,

     but who You are.

May the tune

  of Your faithfulness

be on a continual loop

     in our hearts,

making us responsive,

           not anxious,

to our situation today.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Pouring It Out

Pour out your heart

               like water

before the Presence

      of the LORD.

        Lamentations 2. 19

(Anxiety, worry and stress

   are the outcome

   of holding it in,

 inflating what we cannot control,

 blinding us to what we can do,

and blocking out

         all available light.

God does not just show up.

  He is waiting for us

to come to Him,

drag these distresses

             to the altar,

and show us His way

   through the darkness.)

O LORD,

Please change our triggers

  from anguish, anger

                  and despair,

to turning to You instead.

Grant us Your strength

  to lift that seething kettle

and pour out our concerns

           to You.

You never intended us

    to carry them.

May Your glory

  evaporate all our fears.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com