My sons,
   do not be negligent,
for the LORD has chosen you
to stand in His Presence,
to minister to Him,
and to be His ministers
and burn incense to Him.

                   2 Chronicles 29. 11

(Fulfill your ministry,
however that looks today,
for the LORD has chosen you
           and not someone else.
Stand in His Presence
                even in this,
ministry in all things).

He set himself
       to seek God
...and as long as
he sought the LORD,
God made him prosper.

              2 Chronicles 26. 5

("...as long as..."
A daily choice,
an intentional action,
aligning my heart to His,
each day a little stronger.
A prosperous soul
is not a life of comfort and ease
but responsive to hard times
      and not defeated by them,
a peaceful and satisfied heart
that impacts everyone around.)

The man of God answered,
"The LORD is able to give you
much more than this."

               2 Chronicles 25. 9

(Offer up whatever
you are holding onto
--whatever that may be--
to what
     God has designed in this.
Trust God for what
               He is doing.
Follow Him into it).


       

For we are powerless
against this great multitude
that is coming against us.
We do not know what to do,
but our eyes are upon You.

             2 Chronicles 20. 12

(With whatever I struggle,
when I seek Him,
God will lead me through this.
God's protection,
God's strength,
His wisdom,
His Presence
in impossible situations.
Our eyes are upon You,
                      O LORD).

And when they began 

    to sing and praise,

the LORD set an ambush 

against the men ...who 

    had come against Judah,

so that they were routed.

              2 Chronicles 20. 22

(When we seek God into it

and praise Him

       even before the outcome,

God changes our hearts

even in how we approach the problem,

what to do,

and to see differently in this.)

...but sought the God of his father
and walked in His commandments,
and not according
                to the ways of Israel.
Therefore the LORD established
the kingdom in his hand.

                    2 Chronicles 17. 4-5

(Transformed by God,
not conformed
      to the prevailing culture.
God does something new
                     through you
in altering the landscape
                for His glory).

...because we have sought

      the LORD our God;

we have sought Him,

and He has given us

      peace on every side.

           2 Chronicles 14. 7

(And peace within.

When we seek God,

   there is a visible impact.)

We know

       that in everything 

God works for good

with those who love Him,

who are called

    according to His purpose.

                  Romans 8. 28

(Every handcrafted detail

fits into a pattern of great good,

even that which I don't understand,

maybe even more

    in what I don't understand.

God's working powerfully

is not subject to my comprehension.

Stake your life on that reality).

...but I didn't believe the reports

until I came

and my own eyes had seen it.

               2 Chronicles 9. 6

(The way you live

      is the gospel in real life.

People are watching you

to see not that you are perfect,

but to see that God is real.

The greatest apologetic

      is a transformed life.)

In my distress
    I called upon the LORD,
to my God
    I cried for help.
From His temple
        He heard my voice,
and my cry to Him
reached His ears.

                   Psalm 18. 6

(The LORD is the
   ultimate first responder.)

...in order that we

may bear fruit for God.

             Romans 7. 4

(What am I doing in

   this predicament?

There is not just 

      "a reason for this,"

but the profound

       purposes of God

in whatever I do today,

in whatever He does through me.

Plant fruit bearing trees today

   even in impossible places.)

...we too might walk
       in newness of life.

                 Romans 6. 4

(How can I have
         a new heart in this,
Your heart in this, O LORD,
even in familiar surroundings?
It is not I who live,
     but Christ who lives in me.)

...know the God of your father
and serve Him
with a whole heart
       and a willing mind,
for the LORD searches
all hearts and understands
   every plan and thought.
If you seek Him,
He will be found by You...

              1 Chronicles 28. 9

(What do I need
to follow God
    into this day,
into this precarious situation,
into this quagmire ?
A whole heart 
       and a willing mind.
God will take care of the rest,
even into mystery,
even into the thicket.
Listen for His Voice,
     listen to His Voice.
God will reveal Himself to you).

More than that,
we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that
   suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us,
because God's love has been
    poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit
which has been given to us.

                    Romans 5. 3-5

(This hard place
is not random at all,
but full of meaning
and God's purposes in it
to draw me
       step by step
into a closer intimacy with Him.
No matter what,
          even in this.)

But I have trusted 

   in Your steadfast love,

my heart shall rejoice

   in Your salvation.

             Psalm 13. 5

(Even in the silence,

even in mystery,

even in turmoil,

God calls us to

      "Follow Me deeper."

I can trust Him into it.)

And they shall stand
          every morning,
thanking
   and praising the LORD,
and likewise at evening.

          1 Chronicles 23. 30

(Bookends of the day,
acknowledging
    God's hand throughout.
Praising God
     transforms your heart
and the course of your life.
You cannot help but to be
     changed by it.)

Good sense makes

    a man slow to anger,

and it is his glory

    to overlook an offense.

                Proverbs 19. 11

(What is my heart in this?

What is God's heart in this?

Demanding my rights

    or holding forth His grace,

react or respond,

a time of conflict

or an opportunity for reconciliation).

...to minister continually 

before the ark

as each day required.

          1 Chronicles 16. 17

(Whatever is before me

        is ministry.

Even this. 

Even today.

All is sacred before the LORD).

Seek the LORD

     and His strength,

seek His Presence

             continually!

          1 Chronicles 16. 11

(Even now,

even in this.

God will change

          your day,

          your heart in it,

and the trajectory

     of your life.

Seek Him 

not just in the crisis

but into the dailyness,

  His extraordinary purposes

  all around.)

And when David
    again inquired of God,
God said to him,
"You shall not go up
             after them;
go around
and come upon them
  opposite the balsam trees.

                   1 Chronicles 14. 14

(Inquire the LORD about it,
follow God into it,
even when
  it does not yet make sense.
The route into His purposes
   is not always the obvious one.)

For your God helps you.

        1 Chronicles 12. 18

(Those things I cannot do

               on my own,

even in those things I can.

May I seek His way in this,

may others see Him in this,

unexpected ways

     in impossible situations,

His specialty.)

Then the soldiers cut away
       the ropes of the boat,
and let it go.

                    Acts 27. 32

(That is what
    trusting God looks like.
Asking for direction,
listening for Him,
and following Him into it.
Even when it does not make sense.)

...mighty warriors

       of their generations...

                1 Chronicles 7. 2

(Of prayer,

of the grace of Christ,

of God's redeeming love,

healing in their hands.

That is what we need.

That is who God

     appoints you to be,

even today,

even in this,

a mighty river of love.

Make us aware, O LORD,

    the mind of Christ in this).

...into exile
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

                1 Chronicles 6. 15

(Even then,
         faithful to God.
Wherever you are,
         God at work).

Lead me, O LORD,

in Your righteousness 

because of my enemies;

make Your way

   straight before me.

                 Psalm 5. 8

(God's way 

is not always the easiest path

nor the most obvious,

but He Who will 

          lead you through,

following His scarlet thread

right through the thicket.)

You have given me room
when I was in distress.

               Psalm 4. 1

(Ability to breathe
even in the stress and mess,
another dimension
in which to dwell
   not in order to flee anxiety
   but to listen to You).

The following night
the Lord stood by him and said,
"Take courage,
for as you have testified
   about Me at Jerusalem,
so you must bear witness
                    also at Rome.

                     Acts 23. 11

(God equips us step by step
        for what comes next.
Don't get ahead of God,
         but faithful to Him today,
                          even in this.
In actuality, you bear witness
wherever you are,
in whatever you do,
and always by
       who you are in Him.
Excuse me,
but Your relationship to God
                 is showing.)
           
   

...according to all
that his fathers had done.

               2 Kings 23. 32

(How we live
               outlives us
in those who come after.
What legacy am I leaving?
One of rebellion and despair?
Or the strength
    of walking faithfully with God?)

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit
             in its season,
and it's leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

                         Psalm 1. 3

(Does it really matter
that I daily read God's Word?
God will not just
          change you through it,
He will change
    the trajectory of your life.)

And he did what was right
    in the eyes of the LORD,
and walked in all the way
       of David his father,
and he did not turn aside
to the right or to the left.

            2 Kings 22. 2

(His daily choices
    changed the course of his life
and impacted everyone around him
                 with grace.
Who do I choose to be in this?
        Be found in Him.)

On whom do you
            now rely....
"We rely
     on the LORD our God."

                  2 Kings 18. 20, 22

(That which is at the core
of who you are
is always revealed
          in times of trouble.
In what can I rely
     on the LORD today?
"If we do not do the running
steadily in the little ways,
we shall do nothing
in the crisis."
           (Oswald Chambers)