But thanks be to God...

      2 Corinthians 8. 16

(Even when we struggle

    to thank Him for,

we can be grateful in

      and through

      the hard places.

Even when 

  we cannot understand,

God is good,

God shines forth

      in unexpected ways,

God brings strength 

   to grateful hearts

   in impossible places.)

O LORD,

Thank You.

Not just thank You for

    a list of blessings,

  but grateful to You

for Your Presence,

Your unceasing love,

Your redeeming,

Your glory.

Help us to bring

     thankful hearts

to whatever is before us,

to whomever You appoint us,

and above all,

             to You.

Even now.

Even in this.

Even more.

 

 If the anger of the ruler

    rises against you,

do not leave your place,

for calmness will lay

   great offenses to rest.

         Ecclesiastes 10. 4

(How we respond in turmoil 

     reveals our hearts.

Bring healing 

            to the table.

Neither who is

     right or wrong,

but a continuing state 

   of forgiveness.

Take that burden 

          to the LORD 

and leave it there.)

https://youtu.be/_qOJMoR2RNQ

O LORD,

Help us by Your grace

   to be the unexpected 

   bearer of gentleness,

   calmness

        and healing.

May what we bring

          to the table

   point us and others

    straight to You.

Help us to

  practice Your Presence

in a way

   that lodges in our hearts 

and learn to bring

   our burdens and hurts

 to You.

And leave them there.

That your trust may be

     in the LORD...

        Proverbs 22. 19

(Why are we in the midst

     of this difficulty,

this mystery,

this hard place,

or even surrounded by

    wonder and blessing

                 and favor?

This is why.

That we may trust Him

              even more.

Bottom line

in every situation,

every circumstance,

every endeavor.

The extraordinary

     in the ordinary,

the sacred in the daily,

the vastly significant

   in what we don't see,

the eternal

   seamlessly woven,

that we know Him even more

     and make Him known.)

O LORD,

May we trust You more.

May we know

      that You are God.

That You are our God.

That we are

            each one

    Your beloved.

And that You guide us

  and love us forever.

As we are faithful to You

            in this very day,

may we learn

     to trust You.

Even now.

Even in this.

Even more.

For we are the temple

        of the living God.

      2 Corinthians 6. 16

(And we need to live,

breathe,

work,

resolve,

approach situations,

make decisions,

and bring Him glory

          like that.

We may be the only

     church or Bible

that someone ever sees.

God says,

"I walk among you.

I am your God.

And you shall be My people."

Our relationship with God

is not just a list of beliefs.

Our love for God

and His love in us

should not just look

   very different in this world,

but compel and change us

from the very core

            of who we are.)

O LORD,

Help us to not seek

      to look different

in this broken world,

but to be Yours

in word,

deed,

truth,

   and attitude.

May Your steadfast love

   and forgiveness

radiate Your light

through the open windows

and doors

     of our actions and words.

Table set

     and porch light on.

Does anyone see

   anything different in us

by how we navigate,

how we approach,

how we respond,

how we love You

      and love others?

May we be distinguished

    by our love,

for You,

for others,

even for those

who do not love us.

Be that evident

         in us, O LORD.

           

We are treated as imposters,

      yet are true;

as unknown,

     and yet well known;

as dying,

     and behold, we live;

as punished,

     and yet not killed;

as sorrowful,

     yet always rejoicing;

as poor,

     yet making many rich;

as having nothing,

    yet possessing everything.

          2 Corinthians 6. 8-10

(Not that we are resilient,

       but responsive.

Through all things

          faithful to Christ,

finding and revealing

          His grace and glory.

There is something

        very different in us.

And that would be

                    Jesus.

We approach all things

        with a different heart

and live as servants of God

in ways

that make no sense to the world.)

O LORD,

We face impossible things,

        but not alone.

You are with us.

You are our help and strength.

Help us to approach

   whatever is before us today

differently

        because we know You,

as having nothing,

   yet possessing everything.

Help us to

not just choose Your ways,

               but choose You.

I know that

You can do all things,

and that no purpose of Yours

       can be thwarted.

               Job 42. 2

(We cannot know

    all that God is doing

    in this difficulty,

but we do know

    that God is working in it

    and through it.

His purposes always exceed

         what we grasp

and far above and beyond

             our limited vision.

Why is this situation so hard?

Because God is bringing

      so much good

      that will come of it.

We no longer just believe,

    but know that God is God,

    and we are His beloved.)

O LORD,

Through it all, dear LORD,

we need not comprehend,

    but learn

    to trust You more.

We cannot see

   from where we stand,

because sometimes

          we are just too short,

sometimes because

   we cannot see through

                  to Your glory.

But we can always trust You.

Align our hearts with Yours

  and help us to walk with You,

even in the details

  that are never small after all.

So we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self

          is wasting away,

our inner self is being

   renewed day by day.

For this light momentary

                   affliction

is preparing for us

an eternal weight of glory

   beyond all comparison,

as we look not

to the things that are seen

but to the things

            that are unseen.

For the things that are seen

        are transient,

but the things that are unseen

       are eternal.

         2 Corinthians 4. 16-18

(Everyone struggles

             with something.

The difference as believers

is not if,

not what happens,

  but how we respond to it.

So much more is going on

behind the scenes,

beyond our myopic vision,

always comprehensive

  in His steadfast love.

This affliction or suffering,

uncomfortable, inconvenient,

painful physically

           or otherwise,

is neither random nor punitive,

but what God uses

          and redeems

to prepare us,

swapping the seen

            for the unseen.

We can endure anything

  --even grow in it --

as long as we have hope

  --that on which,

       that on Whom

we can stake our lives.)

O LORD,

There are things we

     cannot comprehend.

Help us to trust You

                in them,

       through them,

not just to an outcome

but step by step

    on the journey itself.

Every day, every step

  manifests a story of

       Your faithfulness.

For we walk by faith

    not by sight,

through the seen

         and the unseen.