This One Thing I Can Do

...brought beds, basins,

and earthen vessels, wheat,

barley, flour, parched grain,

beans and lentils, honey

and curds and sheep

and cheese from the herd,

for David and the people

with him to eat, for they said,

"The people are hungry

and weary and thirsty

    in the wilderness."

           2 Samuel 17. 28-29

(It is not just for us to be

      aware of a need,

but to respond to it.

Not should we help,

    but how can we?

What is even one thing in

    our power to do?

Hungry, weary, and thirsty

   comes in many sizes.

So does compassion.)

O LORD,

Grant to us the vision to see

    the needs all around us.

Empower us with hearts

    to respond.

No matter what we face today,

      or who we encounter,

may our pockets be full

of Your grace and kindness.

 

Not The Boss of Me

 

Keep steady my steps

according to Your promise,

and let no iniquity get

   dominion over me.

           Psalm 119. 133

(God did not promise us

smooth asphalted highways,

but He holds our hands

    on those potholed roads

and where there is no path at all

     through the thicket.

Literally in the Hebrew it says,

"Establish my footsteps

           in Your Word.

Let not ANY trouble, sorrow,

       or wickedness

have mastery or power over me."

These dire circumstances

nor even another person's sin

     has power over us.

Release us.

May we walk straight through,

     undistracted by threats,

   lifted up when we stumble,

and fly over sheer cliffs,

          when necessary.

"Bind ourselves to Thee,"

    Saint Patrick wrote.

And don't even let

   our thoughts go elsewhere.)

O LORD,

Let the only dominion over us

           be You.

May Your grace

    and supernatural power

    protect us from harm,

both what is real

    and what is imagined.

Keep steady our steps,

           Almighty One.

And even in deep shadows,

past growling beasts,

    and among sleeping dragons,

help us to see in the dark

and walk right through

                 with You.

God Does The Heavy Lifting

 

I will come upon him

while he is weary

and discouraged

and throw him in a panic...

          2 Samuel 17. 2

(That is always

the adversary's agenda:

   wear us down,

   wear us out,

and panic opens the door

          to an ambush.

The adversary threatens,

"It will always be this way."

But God

  pushes back the darkness.

May we learn to seek God

     in the overwhelming.

And listen to His voice in this.

As Oswald Chambers said,

  "We act like pagans 

                in the crisis."

But God shows us

     a new path through

when we keep our eyes

          on Him alone,

when we have something

               to eat, and

when we get some sleep.

Worry shuts out

      all available light.

Fear deflates our tires.

But God says,

     "I've got you.")

O LORD,

Please let not the darkness

    nor our weariness

chip away our defenses.

You are our shield.

Protect, defend

     and strengthen us

in these circumstances.

Carry us through.

Our eyes are on You.

Show us Your way

   and hold us tight.

Choosing The High Road

 

It may be that the LORD

will look on the wrong

           done to me,

and that the LORD

  will repay me with good

for this cursing today.

          2 Samuel 16. 12

(We have the strength,

courage, and grace

to respond differently

to hurtful situations

when we trust God through it.

Anger only digs

     the barbs deeper.

What if we see instead

 this difficulty, pain, wound 

or even irritation as building

      Christlikeness in us?

We are not impervious to hurt,

but are able to respond differently.

God redeems for eternity

the most unusual, unlikely

and unexpected for our good

          and for His glory.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

Your interventions

      draw us closer to You.

Grant to us a shield of grace

to bring Your peace

           and Your name here.

Empower us

   to respond differently

by choosing the high road

    for Your honor

and the well-being of many,

   extending an olive branch

   for Your goodness sake.

Waste Some Time With God

 

If Your Word had not

    been my delight,

I would have perished

     in my affliction.

         Psalm 119. 92

(God's Word is not just

     our daily bread

     to get us through the day.

But it is our life preserver

  to keep our heads

        above the waves

when we cannot

          touch bottom.

And we have all been there

  at one time or a million

when we are treading

  in tumultuous storms

   or overwhelming floods.

His voice whispers to us

    through all those verses

we have read with our eyes

 and engraved on our hearts.

God's Word strengthens us

         ahead of time

in ways we never see coming,

to train, equip, and infiltrate

     in both now and next.

Waste some time with God

           in His Word daily.

It matters. It matters a lot.

It may very well

          save our lives.)

O LORD,

Lift us up through Your Word

  in this storm we are facing.

Draw us close to You

and keep our heads

      above the waves.

May the power

         of Your Presence

surround us

in impossible situations.

And to know

    that You are here.

You have given us

       Your Word on that.

Multiply the time

    we spend with You.

God Does Not Just Show Up

 

Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives

     do I give to you.

Let not your hearts

        be troubled,

neither let them be afraid.

             John 14. 27

(Peace from God does not

mean an absence of conflict,

but the promise of His Presence

       right in the thick of things.

That kind of peace

does not depend on 

shifting circumstances,

but learning to trust God.

God does not just show up.

He shows us a new way through.)

O LORD,

We live in a broken world

   with pain and suffering.

We need Your peace

   to sustain us

   in this really hard stuff.

Sing over us

   Your steadfast love.

Cover us with Your mercy

  in unexpected ways.

May we be strengthened

     by Your abiding.

Your aroma lingers.

Your Presence evident.

Divine Appointments and Sacred Encounters

 

And he went into

the house of the LORD

and worshiped.

        2 Samuel 12. 20

(Avodah is the Hebrew word

that simultaneously means

work, worship and service.

Worship does not just

  change us at the

  beginning of the day

              or at the end,

but seamlessly woven

   in how we face the day,

   in how we approach

                 our work,

   in how we respond

         to God in it.

It is not just what we do,

but what God is doing

        in us.)

O LORD,

Grant to us new hearts

   to go forth differently

   into this day,

into these divine appointments,

into our encounters,

    work, and relationships.

Because it is all sacred.

As we work today,

help us to be faithful to You

   in all we do and say.

May we worship You

  even in our attitudes

and how we respond.

There are no interruptions,

  but opportunities

  to leave Your name there.