Swapping Out Our Triggers

 

But we ought always

to give thanks to God

              for you....

        2 Thessalonians 2. 13

(This challenge or encouragement

       or dare

does not come with exemptions,

like if we like someone or not,

      or only if they are nice to us.

But exhorts us to give thanks,

approaching a relationship

with new eyes and a fresh heart.

How differently would we respond

                  to them?

Because God knows

  that criticism and animosity

       lead us to a dark hole.

But thankfulness

  changes our hearts

  toward others

and more often than not,

        changes them too.)

O LORD,

Please swap out our triggers

to treat others with grace

   instead of pride.

Align our hearts with Yours

   that we may see others

   with a loving spirit.

And to take the high road

  by always giving

            thanks to You

for the souls

You have placed on our paths.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Is not this

    to know Me?

declares the LORD.

     Jeremiah 22. 16

(No matter the experience,

the hard situation

          or the good,

what we understand or not,

wherever, whenever,

   whatever, or however,

we can set our minds

   and hearts 

   on knowing Him more.

Every step along the way

  --even one step forward

    or two steps back --

God is drawing us

       closer to Himself.)

O LORD,

Even in the unexpected

             and unlikely,

You redeem in ways

  that we can know You more.

We can approach and

     navigate differently

because You are with us.

Nothing random here,

    only the profound.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

Every Moment Holy

 

....and proclaim there

the words that I tell you.

            Jeremiah 19. 2

(Every opportunity.

Every moment holy.

Sometimes the most unlikely

and unusual places, times,

  or people we encounter.

Someone is watching.

Someone is listening.

Someone we least suspect

  is desperate for the gospel.

Bring the name of Jesus.

Even here.

Even now.

God has strategically

   placed us for His glory.)

O LORD,

Make us aware

not just for opportune moments

to point others

   and love them to You,

but to look for those

   divine appointments.

Help us to bring Your gospel

  in everyday matters and

  even in volatile moments.

Enlarge our vocabulary

  to speak of You.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Even In Drought

 

Blessed is the man

who trusts in the LORD,

whose trust is the LORD.

He is like a tree

         planted by water

that sends out its roots

         by the stream,

and does not fear

   when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious

    in the year of drought,

for it does not cease

              to bear fruit.

         Jeremiah 17. 7-8

(No reason to fear,

no abyss of anxiety,

because we

       don't have to carry that.

God is sustaining us.

Trust Me in this.

He is the one

         who bears us up

and brings about the fruit

that endures

   long after our lifetimes.)

O LORD,

Help us to trust You

  even in drought.

Even in whatever

     we are going through.

Bring Your fruit through it

and Your glory all over it.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Can't Get Enough

 

Your words were found

   and I ate them,

and Your words

   became to me a joy

and the delight of my heart,

for I am called by Your name.

  O LORD, God of hosts.

             Jeremiah 15. 16

(These words are not just

    the words of people,

but the very words of God.

Do we treat scripture

               like that,

  as God's word to us,

   His strength within?

God changes not just

  our hearts and minds

  through His Word.

He changes our appetite.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

that You reveal Yourself

   through Your Word.

You give us strength

   and hope through it.

You nourish and sustain us.

You alter significantly

      what we desire,

      what we seek,

      and what we pursue.

We can't get enough of You.

And through it,

You radically change

     the course of our lives.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Definition of Anxiety

 

They did not remember His power,

or the day when He

redeemed them from the foe.

                Psalm 78. 42

(Definition of anxiety:

    forgetting or ignoring

    that we are not alone.

Be not afraid.

        I am with you.

When we cry out,

"God, I can't do this,"

    He replies, "Good.

    Because I can."

We have short-term

              memory loss.

But God covers us with

   His long-term faithfulness

   and steadfast love.

Trust Me in this.)

O LORD,

Please remind us that

we are not in control,

nor need be,

    because You are.

You are God in three persons

and we are not one of them.

Freshen our vision

by helping us remember

our very own chronicle of

   Your faithfulness.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

God Does Not Hand Out Road Maps

 

Thus says the LORD,

Stand by the roads and look,

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way is,

     and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

         Jeremiah 6. 16

(We  don't have to forge

    our own road in this situation,

    this impenetrable forest,

    this impossible day,

but just ask the Father:

  What is Your way in this?

God may show

    an untried way through

or even redirect us.

God does not hand out

      roadmaps

--figure this out on your own--

or print out marching orders,

but reveals Himself to us

   in a milliondy ways.

Did you consider

    asking Me about this?)

O LORD,

Help us first thing

not to lay our agenda

               before You,

but stand in Your Presence

as You lay Your day

               before us.

May we not just

  come before You,

but walk with You

       step by step.

  

Navigational Tools

 

...so walk in a manner

     worthy of the Lord,

fully pleasing to Him,

bearing fruit

     in every good work,

and increasing

     in the knowledge of God.

          Colossians 1. 10

(To set this passage

before us at the dawning

   of a new day,

radically changes the course,

not just of these hours,

but the very trajectory

        of our lives.

Not just grasping a wavering attitude,

     but ingraining a mindset.

To walk, to please, to bear, to know,

   all seamlessly interconnected,

   all life-changing.)

O LORD,

May we catch a glimpse

of what walking with You

      looks like.

Synchronize our thoughts

         with Yours.

Help us to navigate

           a different path

to bring You glory.

         

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Find SOMETHING

Whatever is true,

whatever is honorable,

whatever is just,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is commendable,

if there is any excellence,

if there is anything

          worthy of praise,

think about those things.

            Philippians 4. 8

(Dig deeper,

look for them,

seek it out,

find something or anything,

not just to think about,

   but on which to dwell.

The Greek word whatever

    means exactly that:

as many as or as few,

how much, how little,

as great as, as small as,

whether in someone

          else's behavior,

          reaction,

          or attitude,

                   or our own.

On what we dwell

  shapes our responses

and our witness

           to the world.)

O LORD,

Be it chaos or storm,

ineptitude or attitude,

may we pursue

 the mind, grace and

               love of Christ.

Help us not just to see

  with a different heart,

but approach, navigate

  respond and dwell.

Empower us

  to be different

 even in slim pickings

and merciful to both

ourselves and others.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

Fill in the Blank

 

But the LORD said to me,

"Do not say,

  'I am only a youth,'

For to all to whom I send you,

        you shall go,

and whatever I command you

        you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you

        to deliver you."

        Jeremiah 1. 7

(Do not say,

     "I am only a (fill in the blank.)"

No matter how skilled or unskilled,

no matter a small task or important,

no matter our job, position or title,

no matter a casual kind word

         or a corporate presentation,

first place, last, or lost in the middle,

we are being used powerfully

                by the Almighty

                for His glory

  in far more ways

  than we can even imagine.

We are seen, heard and sent.)

O LORD,

Please help us to be faithful

wherever we are,

in whatever we are doing,

to go into a scary place,

    or to stay in the familiar,

to follow You right into it.

It is not in us,

           but Christ.

And that makes

   all the difference.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Capturing Our Attention

 

But this is the one

   to whom I will look:

he who is humble

and contrite in spirit

and trembles at My Word.

         Isaiah 66. 2

(When we seek, listen,

   and respond to Him,

are sensitive to His leading

  and trusting Him in it,

revere and stand in awe

          of His Word,

God changes us

through those daily pursuits

  and intentional choices.

We are not capturing His attention,

    but He is capturing ours.

And nothing remains the same.)

O LORD,

In whatever we face today,

please align our hearts

              with Yours.

Capture our attention.

Help us to respond

        differently

because we choose

   to walk with You.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Let Me Carry That For You

 

But when I thought

how to understand this,

it seemed to me

     a wearisome task,

until I went

into the sanctuary of God...

           Psalm 73. 16-17

(We are not going to

       understand all things,

because we are not God,

but we can trust Him in it.

Wearisome in the Hebrew means

    what is heavy and laborious,

that which is too much

   for us to handle on our own.

God invites us

    to come before Him,

even to drag those mysteries

    and boulders

    up to the altar,

to seek Him

and not just a reason.

Let Me carry that for you.)

O LORD,

It is in the heavy

  unexplainable stuff

that we come to realize

that You are God

    and we are not.

Help us to leave

  our weariness with You

and know You more.

And to trust You

in what You are forming in us

for Your goodness and glory.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

And Others With Us Along The Way

 

...Who led them

   through the depths.

          Isaiah 63. 13

(No matter the wilderness,

or desert,

or the miry bog of the soul,

God does not leave us there.

   He leads us through.

In going through the hard stuff,

   we learn to trust Him more.

It is not just making it to the outcome

   or even getting to the other side,

but how God sustains us

every step of the journey

  and what we see along the way.

He does not intend

   for us to dwell there or on it.

He takes us to a

  deeper place in Him

and brings others with us.)

O LORD,

Lead us through the depths

and make us aware

of Your wonders

      all around us.

Help us to trust You

 and see Your goodness

in unexpected places.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

What If I Didn't Complain About This

 

Do all things

without grumbling or questioning,

that you may be blameless

   and innocent children of God

without blemish in the midst

of a crooked and

         twisted generation,

among whom you shine

as lights in the world,

holding fast to

    the word of life....

        Philippians 2. 14-16

(Things are so dark and broken

  in this world

that even not complaining

     is a strong witness.

Others are watching us,

not to see if our lives are perfect,

but how we respond

         when it isn't.

The word all

    means exactly that.

Not that we are impervious

     to the hard stuff,

but we walk differently in it.

Grumbling never makes it better,

but does not trust

        in the goodness of God,

even in what we don't understand.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize that

   what we dwell on

is manifest in how we speak

       and how we respond.

Make us a clear witness

   to point others

           to Your light.

May we respond differently

because we are not carrying

  boulders of grumbling

  and complaining.

Shine through us, we pray.

What Looks Different

 

Have this mind

   among yourselves,

which is yours

            in Christ Jesus.

           Philippians 2. 5

(The mind of Christ

  does not come

  as a side benefit

      to our salvation.

It is the one thing,

  not an auxiliary,

  nor an extra attachment.

The mind of Christ

and all that results from it

is not something to bring along,

    but to put on.

And not leave home without it.

Our mind controls

  everything about us,

not just what we do and say,

but how we respond,

how we see circumstances

    and treat people.

If we put on the mind of Christ

    in this particular situation,

           what looks different?

What is different?

Everything.)

O LORD,

Infiltrate the neurons

    in our minds

and every fiber of our hearts

that no matter

      what we face today

that we would magnify

  Your gospel

in the difficult,

the familiar,

and the unexpected.

Help us to respond

   with Your mind in this.