Leaving An Inheritance

 

...the spears and shields

that had been King David's.

               2 Kings 11. 10

(Holding on tight to the

   valued things of the LORD

and filling the storehouses

of our souls with His strength,

     wisdom and grace

to provide and protect those

    who come after us.

His Word, witness and withness

comprise an unfailing inheritance

    for the well-being of ourselves

    and good news for others 

    who we may not even know.

What we do every day spiritually,

what we pursue and invest,

how God changes our hearts

  have a direct influence

             on this generation

       and the next.)

O LORD,

You have provided for us

     tools in our toolbox

to both use and pass on.

Empower us to take hold

    and grasp in our hands

how wide and long

and high and deep

    is Your love for us.

Help us to know

   and to show others

how to use

    spears of incredible grace

    and shields of mercy

for Your sake,

for Your Kingdom,

in Your name.

            Even today.

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Where is God?

 

Yet He is actually not far

  from any of us,

for in Him we live

and move

and have our being.

             Acts 17. 27-28

(Where is God in this?

Right here with us

   as He has always been,

in storm and calm,

in turmoil and peace.

God reveals Himself

        all around us.

We need not earn His favor.

No one stands

           beyond His grace.

We do not walk alone.

He gives His strength

     to endure hardship

and to bring blessing

in the most unexpected places

and His name 

     to the desperate)

O LORD,

We awake in the morning

   and You are still here.

We find ourselves

     in troubled situations

    and You walk with us.

You are not far.

       You are right here.

You change our vision

   that we can see You

   and follow You

                in all things.

In You, we live and breathe

   and have our being.

Run for Your Lives!

 

Then open the door

             and flee.

Do not linger.

            2 Kings 9. 3

(Sometimes God says go.

Sometimes He says

   stay right where we are.

Sometimes to flee for our lives.

May we learn to respond to God

   when the stakes seem low

   and when our choices

         don't seem to matter.

Because then we know

  how to obey

  when it does matter.

And most often,

we don't know the difference.

Obedience even in

     the smallest details

reverberates for generations.

What only looks like

a tiny response may save our lives

      or someone else.

There are no small obediences.)

O LORD,

Sharpen our hearing

      to Your voice,

guide our eyes,

shape our thoughts

as we move in this day,

  that we would

  follow You into it.

Direct our thoughts

and strengthen our response

     to Your leading.

Align our hearts to Yours.

Help us to know

   that it all matters.

  

What Lingers Here

 

Yet He did not leave Himself

       without a witness....

            Acts 14. 17

(What lingers?

We wonder why we are

     in this barren place.

But we have not

     been abandoned,

  nor taken a wrong turn.

God has strategically

  positioned and appointed us

  here in time and eternity,

  geographically and spiritually,

among those we know

        and even strangers

to bring the name of Jesus here

in word and deed

          and even attitude.

The witness He has left

        is us.

We are not just stuck here.

We are His faithful witnesses.)

O LORD,

Please help us

to fulfill Your purposes

in being faithful witnesses

in the most unlikely places

and unusual situations

and unexpected relationships.

Grant to us the courage

   to speak of You.

Empower us to stay

and provide Your words to say.

Open our eyes

that we may be aware,

not of dilemmas,

but divine opportunities

  to point others to You.

Out of What Looks Like Nothing

 

And Elisha said to her,

"What shall I do for you?

Tell me, what have you

              in the house?"

And she said,

"Your servant has nothing

   in the house

except a jar of oil."

           2 Kings 4. 2

(We tend to play If only I had....

   when God has already provided.

We see our lack.

And what can God do with that?

When we offer what we do have

to the LORD

  --our talent, treasure, time

     and our hearts--

  God multiplies exponentially

  and redeems in ways

      far beyond our imagination.

We focus on what we do not have

          --the gaps--

but God enlarges, multiplies,

provides in unexpected ways,

takes what we do have

and even what we don't realize

              we have,

and creates something

more than enough

   out of what looks like nothing.

What is my little jar of oil?)

O LORD,

Please help us to see You

and others

and ourselves

and these circumstances

   with a refreshed heart.

Empower us to know

   what we do have.

And that is a relationship with You.

Please take this little jar of oil

    --whatever that may be today--

and bring Your glory to it.

Help us to follow You into it.

And to be faithful.

           No matter what.

Overcoming the Overwhelming

 

Then Elisha took his cloak

and rolled it up

and struck the water,

and the water was parted

  to one side and to the other,

till the two of them could

      go over on dry ground.

               2 Kings 2. 8

(How can we approach and navigate

   these impossible passages,

   difficult situations,

   and places with no way through?

Like any other

we have practiced in the ordinary:

     bring it before the LORD,

listen, watch, wait

   for what God does with it

   and how He guides us through.

Not just that others will see

      that He is the LORD,

not just that we will know it too,

    but for His glory all over it.

God reveals Himself

        in one way

        or a million details.

Sometimes He brings

                   dry ground,

sometimes the strength

         to swim.)

O LORD,

We pray that You will

   overcome

what overwhelms us.

Reveal to us

     Your way in this,

     Your way through,

     Your strength

not just to endure,

but to bring Your glory here.

Open our eyes

      to see in the dark,

give us courage

      to wade in the deep,

align our hearts

            with Yours.

Strength for the Journey

 

On the day I called,

You answered me;

my strength of soul

     You increased.

          Psalm 138. 3

(God never intended for us

     to do this life alone.

Even while we are praying,

even in the act of prayer,

God enlarges His strength

           in us.

It is not that we let Him

      into our need,

but He invites us

   into His care and strength,

always and already there,

       embracing us.

We need not face this situation

   or endure this journey

                   on our own.

His Presence, His strength,

   His wisdom in this

changes everything

not just for us

      but for generations.

When we call on the LORD,

      inquiring of Him first,

God orders our days,

reorders our thoughts

            and affections,

changes our appetites,

and guides us in the ordinary

      and the unexpected.)

 

O LORD,

May our first response be

   to call on You

to lead us through the miry bog

  or guide us in the favorable.

Strengthen our souls

   not just for the journey,

but that we would know how

   to strengthen others

and point them to You.

Guide our thoughts

  even while we are praying.

You are doing a work

       in us and through us

that we cannot even imagine.

It is not our strength

            but Yours.