Have this mind among yourselves,

     which is yours in Christ Jesus...

                         Philippians 2. 5

(Not just mindful of Him,

but bearing the mind of Christ,

               even in this.)

  

...I am put here
    for the defense of the gospel.

                 Philippians 1. 16

(Strategically placed.
Even here,
    even in this.
God works through us,
   even in what appears
   the most barren place.
Stand at your post).

For My thoughts 

    are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways

    My ways, says the LORD.

For as the heavens

  are higher than the earth,

so are My ways

        higher than your ways,

and My thoughts 

        than your thoughts.

                 Isaiah 55. 8-9

(God is working

     beyond my comprehension.

God is working powerfully

even when I don't understand.

Follow His scarlet thread

       through it.

"Trust Me in this.")

Was it not You
     Who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
that made the depths of the sea
        a way for the redeemed
        to pass over?

                     Isaiah 51. 10

(God transforms
     and redeems the most impossible
     places in your life.
Even here.
Even in this.
You are here in this hard place
     for His purposes beyond measure).

I am the LORD your God,

who teaches you to profit,

Who leads you 

    in the way you should go.

                 Isaiah 48. 17

(God will guide you

     to a fruitful life.

He will complete His purposes.

Follow the LORD

        in His steps before you,

and He will enlarge your ministry,

His bigger vision,

                even in this).

I am the LORD,

     there is no other.

I did not speak in secret

   in a land of darkness,

I did not say 

          to the offspring of Jacob,

         "Seek Me in chaos,"

I the LORD speak the truth,

I declare what is right.

                     Isaiah 45. 11

(God is,

      and He has spoken.

Seek and you will find

    He is already there,

                  all along,        

drawing you to Him.)

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

(Something old,
          something very new.
May I be faithful
                 and not afraid.
God will make His way
      through it
that I will know Him more).

Fear not,
     for I have redeemed you,
I have called you by name,
            You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters
       I will be with you,
and through the rivers,
   they shall not overwhelm you,
when you walk through fire
       you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel,
                  your Savior.

                   Isaiah 43. 1-3

(No matter what,
no matter where,
not if
      but when,
no matter how impossible
               the situation,
the LORD will bring you through).

Fear not,

   for I am with you,

be not dismayed,

   for I am your God;

I will strengthen you,

I will help you,

I will uphold you

 with my victorious right hand.

                 Isaiah 41. 10

(God specializes

    in impossible situations.

There is nothing

   that He cannot use

        for His glory.

Even this.

I am not alone.

       He's got this.

       He's got me).

And let us
  not grow weary in well-doing,
for in due season
             we shall reap,
if we do not lose heart.
So then,
as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all men,
and especially to those
who are of the household of faith.

                    Galatians 6. 9-10

(Who has the LORD
      put on your path today?
Whatever,
wherever,
among whomever,
     even in that,
     even for her or him.
God is doing
  a profound work).

For waters shall break forth

          in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

                      Isaiah 35. 6

(I see a barren landscape.

God sees a forest.

God is working

     beyond what I can yet see.

When I am faithful,

          God is fruitful.

Even in impossible places,

            even in this.

Not "What am I doing here?"

   But "What does God have

                  up His sleeve?")

Happy are you
    who sow beside all waters...

                     Isaiah 32. 20

(No matter where God places me,
no matter among whom,
God bears the fruit,
God raises up a forest
     in what appears a desolate place.
Even now,
even here,
even in this).

For God alone
   my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from Him.

                    Psalm 62. 5

(Silence
is not indicative of His absence,
but of His deepening Presence.
"Follow Me deeper."
Am I seeking God in this?
     Or just a solution?)

...You have enlarged

all the borders of the land.

                 Isaiah 26. 15

(Be Thou my vision, O LORD.

Help me to see this place,

this situation,

this relationship

          with Your eyes.

Help me to cultivate the land

   where you have placed me,

          even this square inch,

          even as far as the horizon.

May I not limit by my myopic unbelief

   the incredible things 

            You are already doing).

    

And I will fasten him
like a peg in a sure place...

               Isaiah 22. 23

(God has positioned you
              strategically
to be faithful to Him,
sometimes
     in the most unlikely places).

...a blessing

      in the midst of the earth...

                     Isaiah 19. 24

(Wherever God places you,

whomever God puts on your path

                 or on your radar,

whatever you do,

no matter what

    is swirling around you,

are you seeking a blessing

                    or to be a blessing?

Let God use you in this,

            even in this.

Move freely among them).

He who once persecuted us
is now preaching the faith
he once tried to destroy.

              Galatians 1. 23

(No one stands beyond
     the reach and grace of God.
Never stop praying for them).

...for great in your midst
     is the Holy One of Israel.

                   Isaiah 12. 6

(Right here,
       right now,
           even in this.
His Presence is always
         present tense.
God is at work,
     powerful in you,
     mighty through you).
   

And there will be

a highway from Assyria

for the remnant that is left

         of His people,

as there was for Israel 

when they came up 

from the land of Egypt.

               Isaiah 11. 16

(God will make a way

where there seems to be

                  no way,

right through the midst

of the most impossible situation,

quite literally dry ground

       in the midst of the sea.

Trust Him yet another step.

This I know that God is for me.

On that reality I can stake 

not just another step,

             but my life).

...but He said to me,
"My grace
is sufficient for you,
for My power is made
  perfect in weakness."

       2 Corinthians 12. 9

(God's purposes
are far more profound
and far-reaching
than I can ever know.
His strength is
   deeper than this.
The LORD will
not just bring me through,
but weave His glory in it.
God's strength
          and glory
always go hand in hand).

If you will not believe,
surely you shall
not be established.

            Isaiah 7. 9

(If we will not believe,
we are the ones
who are missing out
on what the Almighty
               can do.
God does not call us
      to be fearful,
but faithful to Him.
His Presence
is always present tense).

Even if I am
unskilled in speaking...

        2 Corinthians 11. 6

("You want me
      to do WHAT?"
God always uses us
beyond our own abilities.
Every act of obedience
changes the world
beyond our comprehension).

...to reach

    even to you.

        2 Corinthians 10.13

(The gospel

bears no limitations.

No one

stands beyond

      the grace of God.

Live out the gospel.

Even in this).

...rebuild the 

   walls of Jerusalem...

           Psalm 51. 18

(God builds and rebuilds

      His kingdom through us,

one brick of obedience,

      one act of love after another,

one by one,

nothing insignificant,

nothing obscure in His sight.

What does that look like today?)

...for we aim

at what is honorable

not only in the LORD's sight

but also in the sight of men.

          2 Corinthians 8. 21

(What is my attitude in this?

Am I focusing 

     only on the situation

or God's way in this?

Not just on what to do

   but bringing Him glory.

Yes,

     even in this).

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 always bears fruit

   through faithfulness to Him.

There is nothing insignificant

          in His eyes.

The LORD is working

   in profound ways

even in what I cannot imagine.

Even in that which appears

      ordinary and invisible).

Walk about Zion,

go round about her,

number her towers,

consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may tell

   the next generation

   that this is God,

our God for ever and ever.

He will be our guide for ever.

                 Psalm 48. 12-14

(Know God in every dimension

                 of your life,

seek to increase in 

         knowing Him more,

that you may be able

   to point others to Him,

that they too should

 set their hope in God,

to know Him

and His faithfulness.

Whatever you are going through,

there is something deeper going on).

...we were afflicted at every turn
--fighting without
      and fear within.
But God...

         2 Corinthians 7. 5-6

(Don't leave
  the power of God
out of the equation.
"But God..."
    is not wishful thinking
but the reality of His Presence.
God changes everything,
       even my heart).

For everything

    there is a season,

and a time for

every matter under heaven.

            Ecclesiastes 3. 1

(Pour yourself into

what God has placed 

before you today.

This is a season.

This is huge thing,

   this "insignificant" detail

is more profound

    than you can know,

working together in Him.

The LORD is with me,

    even in this).

I know that 

    You can do all things,

and that no purpose of Yours

           can be thwarted.

                   Job 42. 2

(The LORD is at work in you,

 the LORD is at work 

                  through you.

Am I trusting Him into it?

Following His lead?

Even in this).