Alone with God

“When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted friendship – when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us.”
― Oswald Chambers

God who teaches, when I’m feeling down and hurting, both emotionally and physically, open my eyes and ears. Allow me to be receptive to your holy teaching. Let me learn your ways and truly be your disciple.

Hope

In my mind’s eye I see the car rolling up the highway. I hear the whine of the tires as they eat up the road. From the outside, all is calm. Inside, turmoil. Inside, parents clinging to their Jesus, seeking His wisdom. Desperately seeking His wisdom. They drive on, heading to the institution far away, a place they pray will keep their daughter alive.

How will she respond? Only God knows. Only God can provide the healing for a tortured young soul. Only God can bring peace to a family in crisis. Only God can bring the help she so desperately desires.

I weep for my friends. And for so many others who quietly, desperately deal with crisis. May they all seek God’s goodness, seek God’s wisdom, seek God’s grace.

Needing a break from my thoughts and prayers, I step outside. Opening the front door and walking onto the front porch, I run right into it. Spring. Hope. It blooms in my front yard, right outside my living room window. Quickly, I capture the Spring on film, allowing the beauty to erase the fear. Smiling now, I feel peace. Peace in my own heart, peace in the car rapidly eating up the miles.

Back in the house, I open the drapes and let Spring inside. Peace enters with it, for I’m now confident that Hope exists in the car as it eats up the miles. Hope exists in the distant city. Hope exists right in my front yard. Hope exists in my heart. I only need to open the windows of my faith to experience its blooms.

Isaiah 61:1b-3a “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

Thank you, Lord, for spreading hope in our lives, even in the darkest and most frightening times.

Finding Beauty

“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing–that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment–we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbors, we’re participating in something sacred.” Fred Rogers

Lord, open my eyes to see the beauty all around me: the wonders in nature, the amazing qualities in each person I encounter, the holiness of You.

Love Your Enemies

Lord, bless those who persecute me, who gossip about me, who give me dirty looks, who lie about me. They are your creations. Help me to love them the way you love them. Meet their needs and allow them to know your great love.

Ordinary Things

“It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God: but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes”
― Oswald Chambers

Father, teach me to do my best to honor You in the mundane, ordinary things of life.

Hope

Hope is the thing

That pushes its head

through the earth,

Unfurling its pale green

For all to see.

It’s the expectation of blooms,

Unwinding from a tiny bud,

Blooms more vibrant and colorful

Than imagination.

Hope is the realization

that dead, shriveled things,

 long buried in the ground,

Will one day rise again

 to a glorious new world

with no more tears.

It’s the expectation of

that new world,

Far more glorious

than Spring.

Today, may you find hope in Jesus.