Build On Top Of It

 

And build an altar

   to the LORD your God

on top of the stronghold here,

with stones laid in due order.

              Judges 6. 26

(Even before we go forth

   into this difficulty

                 or this day,

   worship God first.

Acknowledge His Presence,

His help,

His guidance,

His ordering,

and our need for Him.

Therein lies our strength,

    creativity, joy,

    and compassion.

First thing,

build an altar over the hard place,

   difficulty, trouble,

   minefield, or miry bog.

It may be a stronghold,

   but God is stronger still.)

O LORD,

May we not jump into this fray

    or into this day,

before we sit with You.

Guide our thoughts.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Order our affections.

Nudge us.

Help us to build altars to You

  to remind us to live faithfully

and know that You have

           a strong hold on us.

In due order are not just rocks,

   but Your name inscribed

   over our days and loves.

Standing Barefoot

 

And the commander

  of the LORD's army

        said to Joshua,

"Take off your sandals

              from your feet,

for the place where

  you are standing is holy."

 

              Joshua 5. 15

(This place is sacred?

Are you kidding me?

Wherever God guides us,

wherever we are

     is profound in His sight

     and in His purposes.

It is a strategic place,

a moment in time,

unanticipated situation,

unexpected circumstances,

and right opportunity

to worship Him

  in all we do and say,

  even in our attitudes.

His Presence

   is not just to be recognized,

but to be realized

      in multiple dimensions.

We are placed here

  to be faithful to His name,

not just for His purposes,

although there are more

   than can be counted.)

O LORD,

We take off our shoes,

and put down our agendas,

and come before You,

      to worship.

Help us to realize

    Your Presence in this place,

Your wonder,

        and Your glory.

Doing Something Different in Volatile Places

 

And the Spirit of God

         came upon him...

         Numbers 24. 2

(When we set our faces

          before the LORD,

something very different

     does not "just happen,"

but God unfolds His steps

      and design for us.

When we are seeking Him,

He empowers us

   to see differently,

   hear differently,

   and respond differently.

Instead of his own interests

            and ways,

Balaam spoke the words

   that God gave him,

and he blessed God's people

               instead.

God enlarges our vision.

He opens our ears.

He expands our vocabulary.

Balaam was promised the world,

  but he chose to be faithful to God.

What should we do

    in this difficult situation?

What can we do?

           We can bless instead.)

O LORD,

May we bind ourselves to You

   in these circumstances today

that no matter what emerges,

   we are faithful to You.

Use us, we pray,

  to not just be a blessing,

but to bless in Your name.

Show us how to bless others

          --strangers and 

          even those in our circle--

    in tangible ways.

Bring Your glory

         to this situation.

Let It Be

 

And Mary said,

"Behold,

I am the servant of the Lord;

let it be to me,

according to Your word."

              Luke 1. 38

(What if we faced

   that which is before us

not just with that attitude,

    but with that kind of heart.

Let it be to me

    this opportunity to serve Him,

    these circumstances

       --ordinary or extraordinary--

that God has made possible

     to serve Him

and to worship Him

   through what we do

   even in the hard stuff.

This is not a chance situation,

   but for what God has

   equipped us

 to serve Him in unanticipated places

      and unusual ways.

Where is my heart in this?

      Before the Almighty.

What if we committed ourselves

   that decisively to

   this divine appointment?

Not in defeat or grumbling spirit,

     not with a "have to" attitude,

               but get to

for His glory, even in this.

We may not understand it at all,

     nor see the end of it,

but we can trust Him.

What is the one step today?

What is the one thing?

         To serve Him.)

O LORD,

Help us to see ourselves

   through the lens

           of serving You.

Guide our hearts

  that we would see

  something different in

what You have laid before us,

    not just in the gigantuan but

    obedience in the smallest details.

Because there are

       no insignificant acts

       of following You

   --only that which is eternal.

Thank You for trusting us

      with this opportunity.

Help us to trust You through it.

Not just "Let it be to me,"

  but Let it be to You.

God's Fundamental Law of Leftovers

"There is a boy here

who has five barley loaves

            and two fish,

but what are they

     for so many?"

Jesus said,

"Have the people sit down."

                John 6. 9-10

(In this passage,

God reveals what He does

with the ordinary task

  of a mom just fixing lunch

  for her child on an ordinary day.

God multiplies our faithful work

   --even that which

      does not seem to matter.

Through it, God serves the world.

It is not what we do,

    but what God does with it

    of which we may never know.

Even the leftovers

         resound in eternity.

God's fundamental

             law of leftovers

means not just enough

       but more than enough.

We need not trust the outcome,

   but trust in Him alone.)

O LORD,

We ask Your blessing

    on all that we do today.

In Your sight

        and for Your Kingdom,

   it is all profoundly significant.

We ask also to bless You

  and follow You into this day,

knowing that

    even the interruptions

can bring You

        the greatest glory.

Multiply our work, O LORD.

Help us to recognize

     Your hand all over it.

 

Increasing and Decreasing

 

He must increase,

but I must decrease.

            John 3. 30

(This is the point when Jesus

   becomes more than our Savior.

           He becomes our Lord.

What do I desire in this situation--

    His glory or mine,

    His way or mine,

    His purposes or mine,

to know Him more

    and make Him known?

It is not a matter of being

        under His Lordship,

   but invited into it.

Selflessness creeps in

and infiltrates our choices,

demeanor,

words, deeds, responses,

        and attitudes.)

O LORD,

Please help us not just be aware,

      but pay attention

      and to learn how to respond

     to Your increasing presence 

                                 in our lives.

Empower us to make

     those little choices to follow You,

that never turn out

          to be little at all.

May we be a witness today

   to everyone around us

that they wonder what is different in us.

      And that would be You.

Nothing Just Happens

 

...and she happened to come

to the part of the field

belonging to Boaz

who was of the clan

             of Elimelech.

 

             Ruth 2. 3

(In the story of Ruth in the Bible,

there are no "just so happened" occurrences

           or random encounters,

but only that which God designed

           down to the very details.

God guided her

     all the way from the foreign land

                       of Moab

     to this very field in Bethlehem

     in need of reaping.

Ruth would become

   great grandmother to King David.

God was unfolding

           His grand design in her life.

She had only to be faithful to Him

                    in the everydays,

in what looked like just gathering grain.

God is unfolding

     His grand design in our lives.

We have only to be faithful to Him

   in whatever He places before us

   and whose field we gather.

Our work does not just matter.

     We matter to Him.)

O LORD,

We thank You

that Your hand is on us,

no matter where we are today

              or what we do.

Help us to be assured

   that You are working in us

   and through us

for Your Kingdom,

for Your glory,

Your name written all over it,

   even in what

   we may never recognize.

Nothing just happens.

Not Abandoned At All

 

When He summoned

a famine on the land

and broke all supply of bread,

He sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was

            sold as a slave.

             Psalm 105. 16-17

(Despite all apparent appearances,

   God had not abandoned Joseph,

but divinely designated him

for His deeper purposes.

  Far beyond Joseph's vision,

     God guided and provided

for the welfare of many people.

Even in what we cannot understand,

   God has not randomly placed us.

God appoints each of us,

      each day, each situation.

He is right here with us.

We have only to be faithful.

God is doing a work

    we would not believe,

    even if told.  Habakkuk 1. 5)

O LORD,

You preserved the story of Joseph,

not that we should be amazed

at what You did with an ordinary man,

  but that we will trust You,

       even on this ordinary day

    --which is never so ordinary.

Grant to us the courage we need

   to follow You

   into the mysteries

           beyond our understanding.

Let Your purposes unfold

         for Your glory.

The Story Isn't Over Yet

 

I went away full,

but the LORD

has brought me back 

              empty.

          Ruth 1. 21

(Or so Naomi thought.

But God had something

   so much bigger in mind

   than she could imagine.

Things did not appear hopeful,

but even then,

             God redeems.

Just as He does in our lives.

God's purposes are

   often disguised in our myopic eyes.

God had something profound

                  up His sleeve.

Not just boy meets girl,

but the scarlet thread of grace

is woven throughout Scripture.

"Trust Me in this."

The story isn't over.

Naomi's great great grandson

    becomes King David.)

O LORD,

Help us to trust You even more

no matter the circumstances,

knowing that You are

      the Almighty One.

May we walk with You,

 respond and follow You

even when we cannot yet see

      the outcome, Your design,

                   or Your path.

Empower us with Your courage

    to take one step

    and then another.

No Need for a Backpack

 

And He said to them,

"When I sent you out

with no money bag

      or knapsack

      or sandals,

did you lack anything?"

They said,

         "Nothing."

             Luke 22. 35

(Where God guides,

           God provides,

whether that is a rain jacket

         or a sack lunch

         or courage

                 or compassion.

Turns out

   what we do lack

   is "Trusting Me in this."

Do not let fear

   take over the driver's seat.

Always the wrong direction,

always leaving us

     on the side of the road.

But when we trust Him,

God provides in

   unanticipated ways

   unusual places,

   and out of the blue.

And not just limited to stuff.

Look through your chronicle 

     of God's faithfulness.

Remember not just past tense

    how He pulled you through

    the tight places and

               narrow squeaks.

But present tense,

 He brings us to a deeper

     relationship with Him.

God provides His strength

   and fulfills His purposes.)

O LORD,

What have we lacked?

        Nothing.

And when we've reached

       the end of our rope,

    the dead end on our path,

    left in the forest alone,

that is when we realize

   You are right here with us.

You guide and You provide.

You keep up Your faithfulness.

Empower us

          to be faithful to You.

We don't know what we need

              for our journey today.

But that would be You.

Before the Big Mess

 

And they inquired

      of the LORD....

       Judges 20. 23

(Is praying about a situation

     our first response,

                  or last resort?

What if

we came before the LORD

         as we approach a struggle,

  instead of when we are

      running for our lives?

Different approach, direction,

    preparation, and trajectory.

God's outcome plays out

      on a thousand stages,

  most of which we are unaware of.

Because whether we walk

    with God or not through this,

   impacts those we love

   and people we don't even know.

Have I asked the LORD

   about this situation, relationship,

           or this big mess?)

O LORD,

We come before You

early in the day,

dragging not

          our agenda for You,

but coming with open hands

  and a willing heart

to inquire Your design for us.

Forgive our going forth

                 without You.

Redeem the mess we've made.

And help us to follow You,

  even when the road is hard

  and we don't understand.

You are the Almighty.

Help us to realize that.

Conversation Starters

 

...we speak of what we know,

and bear witness

    to what we have seen...

             John 3. 11

(What we contribute

  to our informal conversations

  reveals our hearts.

What we casually talk about

   reflects our experiences

       on so many levels

    and what we are all about.

We bear witness

to what we have seen and heard.

Do we ever naturally mention 

         how we see God 

         working  in our lives?

Our conversations today

   are divine appointments

      and sacred encounters

   to point others to Him.

In every situation

    -- nothing random at all--

we bear witness by

        what we say,

     what we are up to,

and how we treat others.

How do we start a conversation?

What do we bring to it?)

O LORD,

When we take the witness stand,

     wherever You place us today,

grant to us the words

     that even unknowingly

    point others to You.

May the words of our conversations

  and the meditations of our hearts

not just be acceptable to You,

   but love others right to You.

Enlarge our vocabulary

and give us the courage

to start those conversations

  and deepen our interactions

       with those around us.

And may it be told and unfold that

"it is not I,

       but Christ in me."

Thirst Quencher

 

And he was very thirsty,

and he called upon the LORD...

...And God split open

   the hollow place that is at Lehi,

and water came out from it.

                Judges 15. 18-19

(When we call upon the LORD,

not just realizing our needs,

but confessing our need for Him,

       God responds

       to the cries of our hearts.

God replies in unexpected ways

    and helps us to see Him in it.

We are amazed to see

    a rock split open

    and water gushing out.

Water will satisfy our thirst.

But turning to the LORD

   changes not just the situation,

           but the course of our lives.

The biggest miracle may be

   that we realize He is God,

            and we are not.)

O LORD,

We struggle with so many things.

And You wait for us to realize

 we cannot do this life alone.

We cry to You in our need

   on so many levels.

Help us to not just seek

    alleviation of our trouble,

or seeing a miracle,

but that we would seek You

    and not just an answer.

When You quench our thirst for You,

   we see everything around us

   with different eyes

            and a new heart.

It is not longer desperation

          blocking our path,

but opportunity to serve You.

Bring not just Your water here,

      but Your glory.

Wonders of the World

 

So Manoah took the young goat

      with the grain offering

and offered it on the rock

               to the LORD,

the one who works wonders.

              Judges 13. 19

(May we lay this work,

this day and all that is in it,

this relationship,

this hardship or joy

          before the LORD,

putting it fully in His hands

          on the altar,

and watch

   what He does with it.

Sometimes God reveals

      an immediate path,

sometimes what is

      totally unexpected

                 or unlikely,

sometimes a long time

         in coming.

But God always works wonders

far beyond our comprehension,

   way deeper than we can see.

God does not just add.

          God multiplies.)

 O LORD,

You are the God

  of the wonders of the world.

And we are surrounded

    every day by Your

    magnificent work.

Help us to give back to You

      and offer to You

what You have given us.

Be blessed, O LORD,

by what we lay on the altar.

And that would be our hearts.

Work Your wonders in us

     and through us today.

Show us how to

       be a blessing

   in this broken world

and even in what we face.

Grant to us a new heart

   and new vision,

   even in the hard stuff.

                

Seeing in the Dark

 

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness

     has not overcome it.

                    John 1. 5

(Even the smallest spark

    lightens the darkness.

God's light cannot help but

       change how we see,

       what we see,

   how we approach what is around us,

   where we walk,

                 what we do.

Darkness sometimes takes us

   by surprise 

         and stops us in our tracks.

But wait.

     Our eyes adjust.

     Our hearts adjust.

And we can walk toward

            the available light.

God gives us night lights

   in unlikely situations

   and in the unexpected places.

And sometimes we are

     that needed candle of hope 

    and encouragement for someone.

"This little light of mine"

      is never so little.

Jesus abides in us.

Are we bringing His light

    into these circumstances?

No matter where we are,

    that is why we are here.)

O LORD,

Whether an impending storm,

or a room devoid of oxygen

                     and light,

     You are with us.

Help us to walk towards Your light.

Help us to walk in Your light.

Realign our hearts.

Order our thoughts.

Change our affections.

That we may see not just circumstances differently,

     but to see You.

You empower us to see in the dark.

You give us night vision

   because even the darkness

   is not dark to You. (Psalm 139.12)