Even In The Deep Dark Woods

 

...but the hill country

         shall be yours,

for though it is a forest,

you shall clear it

and possess it

to its farthest borders.

           Joshua 17. 18

(Sometimes we ask God,

"You want me to do what?"

What patch of ground

  has the LORD given each of us

to tend, nourish, plant,

clear out the briars,

occupy, recreate,

and bring His name, grace

          and love

    to its farthest borders?

Even that big deep forest

    where what might we find?

Just because it is difficult,

does not mean that

     God is not in it.

But we find Him already there,

       preparing our way.

Just because it is not

                in our skill set,

God brings His strength

     and His glory to it.

"I can't do that!"

God replies,

    "Good, because I can.")

O LORD,

No matter the thick woods

   or barren desert,

impossible people

   or rocky soil,

You walk with us,

You prepare our way,

You equip our hearts.

Please help us to be aware

    of opportunities

to establish Your kingdom

   even in this place today.

We come not just before You,

   but come to trust You

   even more.

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Upclose and Personal

 

...You are my God.

             Psalm 86. 2

(And that changes everything

         about us --

what we do,

how we do it,

why we do it,

what we choose,

how we treat others

    --even the irritable ones,

how we approach and

   navigate the ordinary

   and the extraordinary,

   what is in the forecast,

        and the unexpected,

what we seek,

how we give,

how we love God

       and love others.

God is upclose

         and personal.

He changes what we see

  through the windshield

     and the rearview mirror.

Our road may not change,

   but our journey with Him

   and our hearts.)

O LORD,

You are not just God.

You are my God.

Please tweak and transform

   my heart today.

May I walk with You.

May I run with You.

May I follow You

     on this path

and even into the storms.

Write Your name

    all over my day

that I will know You more,

and be known as Yours.

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How to Not Lose Heart

 

And He told them a parable

to the effect that they

    ought always to pray

and not lose heart.

               Luke 18. 1

(Praying is our first response,

      not our last resort.

God does not just change situations,

      He changes us,

even in the coming before Him.

Pray.

And then pray all the way

    around the circumstances,

down every hallway,

           every angle,

      all the crevices.

God aligns our hearts with His.

We do not lose heart,

    but praying strengthens us.)

O LORD,

Thank You that we can come

      right before You,

  pray and walk with You

   through whatever is on our path.

Please help us to discover

    Your strength in this place.

Help us to not lose heart,

but to know You are with us

        and You are in this.

Not Just An Errand or Detour

 

On the way to Jerusalem

He was passing along

between Samaria and Galilee.

              Luke 17. 11

(We are never just

                 "passing along."

Wherever we go,

     even on the way to Home Depot,

God has strategically placed us.

How do we see the day

            ahead of us?

Full of difficulties

     and bothersome tasks

     to get through on our own?

Or overflowing with opportunities

    to love and serve Him

        with His strength.

Our most profound ministry

    may be embedded

    in our comings and goings

       on the most ordinary days.

How do we respond

   to what we see as a speed bump

               or pothole,

which may not be

     an interruption at all?

God brings His strength to us

      to bring His name here.)

O LORD,

Open our eyes along our way

that we would respond

   with a different heart

   to even the most ordinary

              or difficult.

Build Your strength in us

  that we may more freely give.

Help us to be aware

    and pay attention

to what -- or whom--

You place on our path today.

For Your glory.

In Your name.

First Things First

 

...but did not ask

   counsel of the LORD.

            Joshua 9. 14

(Always a bad idea.

Always a big mistake.

God does not just know

   what we are headed into,

God knows us.

    And how much we need Him.

Have I considered

          asking the LORD about this?

It matters.  It matters a lot.

Nothing too small

       that is not profound.

Nothing too big

       that He cannot handle.

Have I considered

   following God into this?

Praying all the way around it.

His counsel is not limited

                 to the now,

but multiplies

            way into the future,

impacting the journey, direction

                     and outcome,

    in far more ways

    than we will ever be aware.)

O LORD,

We come to You

   with our dilemmas,

   our joys,

   the beginning of the day,

 and the givenness of things.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Even in what

    we don't understand

or cannot yet see,

please help us

    to walk through it with You.

Remind us not just

       to seek Your wisdom,

but to commit our ways

                   to You.

Ready for the Ambush

 

Behold,

you shall lie in ambush

against the city,

               behind it.

Do not go very far

      from the city,

but all of you remain ready.

...Then you shall rise up

             from the ambush

and seize the city,

for the LORD your God

will give it into your hand.

                  Joshua 8. 4, 7

(Sometimes following the LORD

means doing

     what makes no sense at all.

Are we willing to trust Him?

Or do we think our ideas

   are a lot better than God's?

We have no idea

    what we are up against,

nor His protection,

   nor how He has equipped us.

"Follow Me into this."

What is He forming in us?

         Learning to listen.)

O LORD,

Please help us to stand equipped

    and ready to respond.

You are doing a much mightier work

    than we can ever imagine.

May we follow You

   every step into this dilemma,

or even this seemingly ordinary day.

Above all things and outcomes,

   we desire to be faithful to You,

even when we don't understand,

even when we don't ever see

                the outcome.

You pour Your glory all over it.

Marching Around the Impossible

 

You shall march

       around the city...

         Joshua 6. 3

(As Joshua marched faithfully

            around Jericho,

not knowing what this would do,

have we considered

praying around our hard situations,

our extreme difficulties,

that pothole or impossible task?

Praying around it.

             Over and over.

And in the process of praying,

     knowing God is working,

not just on the situation

           but on our hearts.

Are we willing to follow Him?

And finally see

      what God brings about,

a crack in the fortress,

a new way through

              the scary stuff.

His Presence is

       not to be recognized,

       but realized.)

O LORD,

Help us to always be aware

   that we can pray to You.

Empower us in this situation

   not just to call out to You,

   but to worship You

             right here, right now,

   with our feet

               and our prayers.

Please help us

   not just to be delivered

             from difficulty,

but to bring Your name here

and worship You,

              even in this.

May we seek Your face

and be faithful

     in the ordinary

     and the extraordinary.