I Would Do Anything For You

 

By this we know love,

that He laid down 

      His life for us,

and we ought to lay down

   our lives for the brothers.

             1 John 3. 16

We love the first part of this verse

     about Jesus laying down

     His life for us.

But too often, we just mumble

        our part in this truth.

Love for others means

   laying down a lot of stuff

   we insist on carrying:

our "rights," our favorite idols,

our insistence on not forgiving,

and the biggest and bulkiest,

     our tightly gripped pride.

But the act of laying down

  releases us to do something else:

       to love and bless others

in extraordinary ways,

          even on ordinary days.

Are we willing to be selfless

    and loving in this situation?

Not thinking less of ourselves,

   but less about ourselves.

For the sake of the LORD,

   I will seek your good.

                Psalm 122. 9

O LORD,

Show us this day,

how to lay down our lives

  in order to pick up

  Your higher calling 

         in this situation.

Help us to see the best in

and seek the best for,

by loving others

       in tangible ways,

even those who have hurt us.

Grant to us the strength

   to restore our relationships,

and to bring Your love there.

Love says,

    I would do anything for you.

Indeed,

            You do everyday.

Help us to do likewise,

  even with him,

  even with her.

     

Distractions That Keep Us From Actions

 

....but the people

      who know their God

shall stand firm

           and take action.

           Daniel 11. 32

We live in a broken fallen world.

Those who know their God

         do something about it.

They have been trained and equipped

  through His Word to know Him more,

           day by day by day.

God's Word defends and protects,

strengthens and increases endurance.

God transforms us through it.

He opens our hearts to what 

     we have never seen before.

Knowing God changes our trajectory,

   because we see Him

   and see our paths differently.

God secures our steps.

       We don't walk alone.

God opens our hearts and eyes

  to take some kind of action,

  even in the really hard stuff.

Not "just do something,"

   but follow Him into it.

What is His appointment

   for me today in this place?

Push back the darkness here.

O LORD,

No matter how narrow

     or treacherous the trail,

secure our feet

and help us to lift up our eyes

           to You alone.

Keep us from distractions

  that keep us from actions.

In whatever we face today,

help us to be faithful to You,

   to stand firm in what honors You,

   to do what is good and right,

and take action to resolve,

      restore, heal wounds,

      and stand in the gaps. 

I Thought You'd Never Ask

I lift up my eyes

          to the hills.

From where

   does my help come?

My help comes

          from the LORD

who made heaven 

     and earth.

           Psalm 121. 1-2

I have hiked enough to know

that there are always surprises

        around the next bend,

yet another slope

         or stronger incline.

The really steep ascents

      before us are not meant

          to defeat us, 

but for us to realize

  from Whom 

  our strength comes.

God does not just send help,

or stand far off,

     watching us struggle.

He is our help.

When we lift our eyes to Him,

     He guides us through.

We may not even be able

     to see the summit,

but can fully know His Presence

     along the way.

Where is our help?

God whispers,

    "I thought you'd never ask."

O LORD,

Help!

We are stuck on the side 

   of a steep mountain,

not able to go either up

                or down.

Don't just show up, O God.

Show us

      how to walk with You

      through this.

There is a different outcome

  to these circumstances,

and it is not just at the top.

Soften our hearts,

change our minds,

and re-tie our hiking shoes,

that we may respond,

approach and navigate

    the really hard stuff.

And seize Your courage

   to take another step today.

Our help comes from You,

   Creator of the universe.

Doesn't get any better than that.

 

 

Time On Knees

 

...while I was speaking

         in prayer...

         Daniel 9. 21

Something always unfolds

     when we pray

         and as we pray.

Things do not "just happen,"

but God intervenes

and redeems

and changes us to our very core.

We see our circumstances

      differently on our knees.

That is our posture of prayer,

   time on knees.

While baking the other day,

I dropped a chocolate chip

 I couldn't see it on the floor,

  but I knew it was there.

It wasn't until

    I got down on my knees,

        that I could see it.

God does not just

     deliver an answer.

He opens our eyes

       to His wonders

and even to what

  is right at our feet.

While we are praying,

   the tectonic plates

   of the universe shift

far more than 

       we can imagine.

O LORD,

We come before You,

not even realizing

what You are creating

and revealing and unfolding

  because we are

  spending time with You.

Your mercies surround us,

most often in ways we have

     not even asked for.

On our knees,

  we realize Your Presence.

And that changes

how we respond,

       what we see,

and how we go forth.

You order and reorder

        our hearts.

 

Uphill Both Ways

 

In my distress,

     I called on the LORD,

and He answered me.

              Psalm 120. 1

This verse underlines

    an appropriate beginning

    to the fourteen psalms of ascent,

traveling, tackling, scrambling,

and trekking the hard uphills of life,

   of which there are

   countless mountains to climb.

But it is there we see,

             along the way,

amazing views we cannot imagine

          any other way.

And find out what God's strength

              is all about.

Call to the LORD.

He will not just respond,

but walks with us through this,

      uphill both ways.

We are just not there yet. 

O LORD,

in You we trust,

on You we lean,

from You we gain strength,

through You we will make it.

Help us to savor 

      these moments with You,

knowing the journey

is even more significant

           than the outcome.

Empower us

     one more step.

And then another.

Not looking too far ahead,

   but looking to You.

When We Are Overwhelmed

 

...because you are strong,

and the Word of God 

        abides in you,

and you have overcome

                the evil one.

           1 John 2. 14

The distinctive and irrefutable difference

   between overwhelmed and overcome

         is trusting in the Almighty.

Overwhelmed is struggling

   with what is too strong for us.

Overcome is knowing His strong hold

               tightly over us.

God brings a far different outcome.

Lord Jesus...Overcome what 

     overwhelms us. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

God covers us with His triumphs

  in an unlikely sequence of events.

O LORD,

We don't have any idea what to do

   with this darkness

   or this power against us,

except to pray

      and run to You.

Reveal to us what to do

and how to bring You glory in it.

Turn this situation on its head

   by redeeming what is impossible

into tremendous good.

Translate overwhelmed

             into overcome.

 

God Is God And We Are Not

 

...and did not understand it.

           Daniel 8. 27

Daniel was a significant prophet

   in the Old Testament,

who interpreted dreams for kings

       even at the risk of his life.

But sometimes, even Daniel

       was at a loss for what

      was before him.

Those who are wise,

   know that they don't know it all.

Some things in Scripture

           --or our own lives --

we will never understand.

    But some things we can.

The biggest truth 

and greater good always exceed

         our comprehension.

That is why God is God

    and we are not.

But when we seek God,

He always reveals Himself to us

   in one way or a million.

And God's Word gets us there,

forming an unbreakable connection

   between reality and Scripture.

We may still not fully understand,

but slowly God unfolds

  what we never saw before.

O LORD,

This situation, this relationship,

  this deep dark crevasse,

is way beyond our understanding.

Strengthen us to go forth

   with what we do know:

that You love and care for us.

And that we can walk with You

    through everything before us.

               Even this.

Guide our steps.

Order our thoughts.

Help us to trust You

   in what we cannot yet know.