His master said to him,

"Well done,

      good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful

              over a little.

I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy

               of the master."

           Matthew 25. 21

(We largely miss the point

              of this passage.

It means nothing at all

about achievements and success

     and "doing great things for God."

But all about trusting God

and loving Him with all one's heart

     and soul and mind and strength.

That's what faithfulness does.

Faithfulness does not differentiate

       between great and small,

       nor assign significance

          to one and not the other.

But being faithful to God embraces

   whatever He places in our hands.

Not for accomplishment

                  but joyful for His glory.

Even in what is

      before us today,

there is nothing but nothing

           God does not redeem.)

O LORD,

We are all given much

              by Your hand

       and in Your sight.

Open our hearts

    that we may see

    how to bring Your name to this

    and open the gates

                   to Your glory.

Help us to realize

    Your kingdom and purposes

are woven into

   even what we see as minor details,

      which are never too small.

May we be faithful to You, O God,

     in the ordinary and the extraordinary.

One and the same.

 

I will fulfill

the number of your days.

           Exodus 23. 20

(When our hearts are set

      on serving the LORD,

nothing is random,

and there is nothing that cannot

            bring Him glory.

There is no great and small.

Every word,

        every action,

every seemingly insignificant kindness,

God uses fully

    to bring His name to this

    and build His kingdom,

even in ways we are

          totally unaware.

God does not just fill our days.

              He fulfills them.

And we do not walk alone.)

O LORD,

Help us to approach this new day

       and this coming week,

knowing that

      You are completing every minute.

We can trust You

    in whatever You place before us.

O LORD,

    help us to be faithful to You,

realizing that You bring

    Your extraordinary

    into our ordinary.

Help us to know that

           finishing well

comes in many unexpected ways,

and most often,

   far beyond what we can see.

You are guiding us.

We are not alone.

You prepare our way

             and us.

 

Ascribe to the LORD

the glory due His name;

worship the LORD

    in the splendor of holiness.

               Psalm 29. 2

(Recognizing,

acknowledging,

proclaiming to others

     the Presence of God,

not just in what He does,

    but who He is.

No detail of His goodness,

no revealing of His strength,

no appointment

              too small.

Do we take the glory

    that is rightfully His?)

O LORD,

May we engrave Your glory

   into our words and

   point others to You.

You have strategically appointed us

    to bring the name of Jesus there.

Spread Your glory in this place

     in ways that cannot be

                    explained away.

May we worship You

         in our words.

 

Blessed be the LORD!

For He has heard the voice

    of my pleas for mercy.

The LORD is my strength

                 and my shield.

In Him my heart trusts,

     and I am helped.

My heart exults

and with my song

   I give thanks to Him.

                  Psalm 28. 6-7

(When we seek God

           and trust Him

   in whatever circumstances,

God guides our hearts to Him.

The situation may or may not change,

but the LORD changes us

    and radically alters our trajectory.

Different destination, different journey,

    a new heart

    and fresh strength from Him.

Trust Me in this.

God knows what He is doing.

                   Imagine that.

Even in this.)

O LORD,

You are good.

Help us to trust You

   in Your goodness

   and Your faithfulness.

You are bringing about

               Your glory in this.

Walking with You,

         holding Your hand,

   changes the course of our lives.

Even right where we are today.

Be blessed, O LORD,

          in whatever we do.

And may we be a blessing

   to all those around us.

 

The greatest among you

      shall be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself

      will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself

      will be exalted.

                 Matthew 23. 11-12

(God turns the world

      right-side up.

How do we approach

       this difficult situation?

Just be faithful to God in it.

God sees

      not just what we are doing,

      but His grander narrative.

Trust in the slow work of God.

God always redeems the humble

    --those not thinking

                     less of themselves,

       but thinking less about themselves.

Just do the work.  And love others.

God takes care of bringing

         His glory to it.)

O LORD,

Help us to walk with You

    wherever we find ourselves today

    and in whatever we do and say.

May we approach the needs around us

          with a joyful heart,

          not just ready and willing to serve,

                        but get right to work.

No fanfare needed.

Be exalted, O God,

    even in what we think is hidden.

Let others see You.

 

...but the people of Israel

       walked on dry ground

in the midst of the sea.

              Exodus 15. 19

(God provides a different path

    through the impossible

          --when we trust Him in it.

Walking with God

   means walking with a new heart

        and a strength not our own.

We can walk differently

            in both the every days

            and in the crisis.

We can approach what is before us

        and see it with fresh eyes,

as an adventure,

as an exploration,

as a way of bringing His name

           and glory to this place.

Because we trust in Him,

    we are not afraid

                of getting our feet wet,

    even in what is difficult,

even in what is familiar.)

O LORD,

You guide us,

You provide for us,

even in impossible situations.

You anoint and appoint.

All of our encounters

           are divine,

maybe especially those

   that don't look that way.

Our feet are on sacred ground.

You take our hearts

           to a new place

   by a new route,

or by seeing this one differently.

May we glorify Your name

   wherever we are today

   and whatever we are doing.

 

 

When Pharoah let the people go,

God did not lead them by the way

of the land of the Philistines,

          although that was near...

But God led the people

around by the way

      of the wilderness

      toward the Red Sea.

                 Exodus 13. 17-18

(God guides us in unexpected ways

        and unlikely places.

But the unknown

            and the wilderness

are neither random nor barren,

but a place of His Presence

  so that we would know Him more.

Why am I here?

    "Because I wanted you to be."

God has something up His sleeve

    that we cannot yet see.)

O LORD,

Not sure of what we are doing

     or why we are here,

but You say to us,

   "Trust Me in this,

     follow Me through this,

    and watch what I am doing."

We have only to be faithful.

We know that we are in Your hands,

     and that You are

                 unfolding Your glory.