And the Next Step Will Emerge

 

You gave a wide place

      for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

           2 Samuel 22. 37

(God does not promise

that there will be no scary places,

              brokenness,

              sheer cliffs,

              or sink holes,

not even that He will bring us through.

But He does promise

    that He is right here with us.

If things were easy,

         would we even pray?

Think of fear as a trigger

    to trust Him even more.

And indeed, we should be afraid,

   to try to do this life

              without God.

Trust Him in one step

  and the next step will emerge.)

O LORD,

We come to You in the every days.

We cling to You

           in the frightening places.

Be our vision.

Order Your way for us.

Show us Your path through

   or just the next action.

Help us to trust You,

  even when we can't see the outcome.

We follow Your footsteps into this,

  knowing You may be leading us

             in a new direction,

   or firmly planting us here.

Whatever or wherever that may be,

You bring Your glory to it.

A Different Path in the Chaos

 

I am one of those

who are peaceable

    and faithful in Israel.

          2 Samuel 20. 19

(Those who are peaceable

   seek out a different way

   through the hard stuff.

They carry an olive branch

   and bandages,

       instead of ammunition.

Those who are faithful

   are in it for the long haul.

They do not react,

            but respond,

  not taking a passive stance,

      but an unexpected one,

seizing opportunities

  to make things right,

  to forgive even when it hurts,

  to reconcile and restore.

God has strategically placed

        each one of us

to bring His name,

    His love and grace

right where we are.

        Even in this.)

O LORD,

May we be known

not just as being peaceable

          and faithful to You,

but known as Yours.

Please help us

   to see something different

   in the chaos

and to walk towards Your light.

Fill us with Your peace

   that we would be able

   to bring it freely to others.

Grant to us the courage

   to point others to You,

to bring peace

even to those against us.

Help us to know

   You do not just change a situation,

but You change the world,

one act of faithfulness at a time.

What We Bring, What We Leave Behind

 

...and you will be My witnesses

in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the end of the earth.

                   Acts 1. 8

(Whether in common spaces

    or the unfamiliar,

wherever God guides

     or places us today,

whatever odd location,

impossible situation,

crisis,

among those who know Him

               or don't,

God has appointed us

to bring the name of Jesus there

   and live out the good news

   of the gospel.

Even in

   the most unlikely circumstances,

   our hearts are evident.

We can be a witness there.

Others are desperately watching,

not to see if we are perfect,

but to know that God is real.

  And that He has changed us.)

O LORD,

Please help us to be aware

that the one thing we can bring

      or leave behind today

   is to be a witness

   of Your love and grace.

Open our eyes

   to the opportunities

   all around us.

Enlarge our hearts

   to embrace the hard stuff.

Assure us of Your Presence.

We bear witness

       and point others to You,

   but You do the heavy lifting

of changing hearts.

And God Enlarges Our Hearts Instead

 

And the king said to Shimei,

"You shall not die."

              2 Samuel 19. 23

(No matter how we are treated,

may God grant to us

the measure, margin,

   mindset and courage

to respond with acts

     and attitudes of grace.

Grace does not ignore the hurt,

but covers it with healing,

infiltrates it with forgiveness,

and enlarges our hearts instead.

How can we navigate

    our volatile relationships?

    (We all have them.)

Jesus always shows

     another way through it

with eternal reverberations.)

O LORD,

Help us to love and extend grace

    to the difficult people.

        Of which we are too,

   and You loved us anyway.

Pour Your grace and healing

     over these hard situations

     and strained relationships

that we may think and act

     with Your radical

     and unexpected love

          and the mind of Christ.

Do something extraordinary with it.

People are always watching us

   to see if You have really changed us.

May we see these circumstances

   as a way to practice grace.

If I Knew You Were Here

 

Having said this,

she turned around

  and saw Jesus standing,

but she did not know

  that it was Jesus.

            John 20. 14

(How often we do not recognize

     Jesus in our midst

in the most unlikely

          and unexpected places.

His Presence and His abiding

  change everything about

  the situation and our reaction.

Because of His Presence,

     we see it differently.

We respond differently.

We would not be afraid,

   if we knew He is here.

God does not just show up.

   He is already before us.)

O LORD,

Help us to see You

   in every dimension around us.

Help us to know

       that You are right here.

Empower us to be able

  to recognize not just Your Presence

  but to walk with You

          even through the impossible.

We may not understand,

   but the unknown to us

   is not unknown to You.

Please show us how

   to abide with You in this situation,

to approach and navigate differently

      because You guide and provide

   and have an unbreakable hold on us.

And to be a strong witness to others

         that You are undeniably real.

The Ultimate Win-Win Situation

 

And God gave victory to David

wherever he went.

               2 Samuel 8.6

(This verse is not about

      winning or losing,

      success or failure.

But when we are faithful

          in following God,

something very different unfolds

     wherever we go

     and in whatever we do.

The Hebrew word successful

    means to make wide and spacious,

    make sufficient, defend.

God enlarges the situation

      with His steadfast love.

He changes us.

What is eternally more at stake

   than a winning score

   is that we know He is God,

              and we are not.

His glory comes in all shapes,

     sizes and appearances.

By much and by little,

     God reveals His Presence.

Not by our own skill and greatness,

              but in His.)

O LORD,

As we go into this day,

please help us to focus

     differently on You,

 not seeing this situation as a win or lose,

     but a conversation 

     and opportunity to be faithful to You.

May we bring Your grace

          and healing here.

Being faithful, obedient,

   and responding to You

always changes the outcome.

Please help us to love others

   right into Your embrace.

You bring Your impossible victory,

   even to our hearts.

And that is always a win.

     

    

Homesick for What Can Be

 

How can a young man

     keep his way pure?

By guarding it

  according to Your Word...

I have stored up Your Word

          in my heart,

that I might not sin 

               against You.

            Psalm 119. 9, 11

(It is beyond any of us

   to live a fully moral life.

God's Word is not just

     a protective shield

               over our hearts.

God's Word changes our hearts.

Daily reading, listening, responding,

   alters our appetites,

   adjusts our affections,

   reorders our thoughts,

   heals, provides, nourishes,

rearranges the course of our day

     and the trajectory of our lives.

Are we intentionally storing up

    God's Word in our hearts?

It does not remain there void.

It cannot help but

       infiltrate every part of us:

how we respond to God,

see circumstances,

approach difficulties,

treat others,

and show the world

   a different way to live.

Make others homesick

        for what can be.)

O LORD,

Grant to us a desire for Your Word.

As we open Your scriptures,

   enlarge our hearts and souls.

We cannot understand it all,

    but we can understand something.

Provide to us a take-away verse,

      or passage, or even a word,

   to strengthen us through this day.

Infiltrate, invade, infect our hearts

   with Your life-changing Word.

Fill us with desire

          not just to read it,

but to live it outloud.

Help us today

   to do something different

  and unexpected

            as a result.