In All We Undertake

 

And you shall rejoice

before the LORD your God

in all that you undertake.

              Deuteronomy 12. 18

(Rejoicing is not just tied to a

        favorable outcome

     or grand accomplishment,

but rejoicing before God

            in the doing.

The ancient Hebrew word all,

means exactly that:  all,

the whole, each and everything,

       all that we undertake,

even the difficult and confusing.

And through our doing,

God forms something new

      in us, training, equipping,

preparing us for the now and next.

When we come before Him

              in all that we do,

every good endeavor,

and every faithful deed,

   God transforms our hearts.

Do we see this task differently

      by worshiping God in this?)

O LORD,

Help us to go differently

             into this day

by rejoicing in You,

  instead of grumbling.

Increase our vocabulary

    to speak with a new heart.

   and to bring You glory in it.

Use our work profoundly,

      in all we undertake,

even what is beyond understanding,

    out of sight, 

    or on the far side of words.

Grant us the deeper joy

      not just in the doing,

but in being faithful to You.

Frightful Things and All Their Cousins

 

...and those who love His name

   shall dwell in it.

               Psalm 69. 36

(We all struggle with something,

    both real and imagined,

    irrational and overwhelming.

God never ignores a cry of

                   "Help me!"

He always hears us,

        but are we listening?

I asked the LORD to help me

   by taking away

        what was troubling me.

Over the course of days,

I walked and talked with Him

             through it.

He answered me unexpectedly,

       as He most often does,

"What are you dwelling on?

 Why are you dwelling on it?"

So many frightful things

       --with all their cousins--

    come knocking on our doors.

But we need not invite them in.

         Dwell with Me.)

O LORD,

Grant us the courage

     to dwell with You

  in this broken world.

Settle in, abide,

make our hearts

   Your permanent address.

Empower us to say to our fears,

   "No vacancy."

Dwell with us, Almighty One.

Fill every room.

The Power of First Responders Is Not Their Own

 

And I prayed for Aaron

also at the same time.

              Deuteronomy 9.20

(Even in his anger and despair

over what Aaron had done,

Moses responded

              by praying.

Praying defused his anger

and gave him the wisdom

   and courage to

   set the situation rightside up.

By praying not just about it,

    but through it,

 allowed Moses

         to love his brother

     back from his sin

and bring God's supernatural

          power to sink in.

Do we even consider praying

          as our comeback

   when someone messes up?

Praying is the way

       of loving other people,

       forgiving them,

   and doing something

            restorative about it.

Prayer exhibits the

  Newton's Third Law of Motion:

Every action has an equal

    and opposite reaction.

What if we responded

     by bringing prayer

     instead of ammunition to it?

The triggers may remain the same,

  but what if we trained our hearts

      to pray as our default?

Prayer is neither a natural

    nor equal reaction.

Prayer changes everything,

         deeper still

even ourselves.)

O LORD,

We confess that praying

  is not the first thing we do

when we have been wronged,

when someone messes up,

when we are angry with

        those around us.

Fill us with Your love

   to overflowing.

Grant us Your heart in this,

    even Your words to pray,

and another way through.

Guide our hearts

      to pray to You.

Fill us with Your Spirit

   in volatile circumstances

for Your unexpected glory.

May Your love prevail

  over our words and actions.

Help us to respond

   and not just react.

Even in this.

             Even today.

  

It's Not Easy Being Green

 

...but the righteous will flourish

      like a green leaf.

              Proverbs 11.28

(We are no ordinary plants,

but changed

    to bring God glory

    in impossible situations.

In the desert,

  a green tree is spotted

                miles away.

     It cannot be overlooked.

Our lives too should appear

             very different,

even in the harshest conditions,

  not to put on a cheery, cheesy face,

  but reveal a transformed heart.

We are strategically placed

to bud, sprout,

   burst forth with blooms and fruit,

and flourish on so many levels.

Especially in a drought,

it's not easy being green,

but God gives the strength

    to grow deep roots,

bear fruit,

and provide His beauty

   and nourishment for others.

We are not just here for a reason,

      but for His glory.

Flourishing never comes

  in single serving containers,

but to be shared

           and multiplied.)

O LORD,

Fill us with Your life-giving strength

   not just to endure,

   but to flourish

     in unexpected places.

May we recognize

       that we are Yours.

May others see the same.

Not that we are just different,

   but changed and used

   and loved by You.

Grant us the courage

        to be green.

 

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Too Heavy for Any of Us

 

Blessed be the Lord,

who daily bears us up.

God is our salvation.

             Psalm 68. 19

(God guides, provides,

sustains, and holds us tight,

through many dangers,

toils and snares

    --far more than we know.

God daily bears with us,

    lifts us up,

    carries us through,

and walks with us,

   even in this difficulty,

   even in this impossible situation,

   even in our hard relationships.

God reveals a new way through,

     starting with our hearts,

             new every morning.

A "good day" does not happen.

Look to see how God

    bears us up.

Even in the tough stuff, 

        or the ordinary,

  God does the heavy lifting.)

O LORD,

May You be blessed

    by what we do and say,

even in our turmoils

      and what looks like defeat.

You daily bear us up.

Help us to never forget

   Your Presence with us.

We are not our own.

We are not on our own.

Hold us tight.

Help us to bind ourselves

                to You.

You have brought us

           safe thus far,

and You will lead us home.

        (Amazing Grace, 1772)

 

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Carries Us Through

 

Do not be in dread

     or afraid of them...

The LORD your God

   who goes before you...

in the wilderness

  where you have seen

how the LORD your God

             carried you,

as a man carries his son,

all the way that you went

   until you come to this place.

          Deuteronomy 1. 29-31

(Every day is a story

         His faithfulness,

  still unfolding

  and being revealed,

past, present and future.

We just can't see that far.

       But He can.

Fear shakes its fist at us,

   anxiety tries to trip us up.

But God has already been there

    and back again,

preparing our way

and equipping our hearts.

He goes before us.

He does not just

            walk with us.

God carries us through.

Stay with Me.

  Don't get ahead

         or dread.)

O LORD,

We face great shadows

    of the unknown.

Please help us to not be

   paralyzed by the what if's,

but energized by what is,

     and that would be You.

You lift us up

     out of our turmoil,

You bear us continually, 

support, sustain,

and bring us through,

strengthened in You.

Help us to navigate this difficulty

         differently,

remembering how You embraced us

           in the past  

and carry us now as Your beloved.

We are not alone in this.

     Never have been.

Rearview Mirror And The Windshield

For the LORD your God

    has blessed you

in all the work of your hands.

He knows your going through

    this great wilderness.

These forty years

the LORD your God

       has been with you.

You have lacked nothing.

             Deuteronomy 2. 7

(Looking backwards and all around,

through the wanderings, the ordinary,

the rough roads, potholes,

what was hard, what was joyful,

what appeared to be a deadend,

       detour or wrong turn,

the significant

   and the seemingly insignificant,

       both failures and triumphs.

God has been guiding, providing,

    and redeeming all along.

How we see the past and present

   empowers us to trust God

in the now and the next.)

O LORD,

May we look back

and not just see Your hand,

   but Your Presence,

even in the dark places,

even in the impossible.

You are with us.

You are still with us.

Help us to not dwell in the past,

    but to abide in You.

Right now. Even in this.

Be glorified, Almighty One.