To Smile on What Will Be

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, 

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; 

I will turn the darkness into light before them 

and make the rough places smooth. 

These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

Isaiah 42:16

You grant us assuring promises.

But we admit our hesitance to believe them.

Either our current circumstances suggest otherwise,

or they sound too good to be true. 

Teach us that faith in you is vindicated in reverse.

We find you trustworthy by trusting you.

We find you powerful by subjecting ourselves to your might.

We know you as Father by embracing life as your children.

Teach us to hope for the coming days,

to smile on what will be.

In the meantime, we have full access to all that is yours.

There is no shortage.

Thank you for superintending all things as a Father, our Father.

Teach us to relate to you as such.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus,
Who for the sake of promise-keeping bore all grief, even to the grave.

Amen. 

We Long for This

Why is it so hard for us to see you in mundane suffering? Is inconvenience that big of an insult to our pride? We think we can overcome it if we make some adjustments, raise our voices a little higher, or shake our fists a little longer. There is always someone else to blame, even you.

Then there are times that are more than inconvenient. Times that bring loss, great physical pain, and showers of heartache. Loved ones pass, babies are lost, dreams of future relationships and vocations crumble, intense pain cripples us from daily life. In these times, we rarely try to save ourselves because we can't. We can't save ourselves when we are completely helpless, completely at the mercy of what will happen next. Only a fool would attempt such a thing. While at times unbearable, the grace of this is sweet. 

In our inconvenience, teach us to pray.

In our inconvenience, show us our need of rescue.

Help us to see our powerlessness to fix ourselves
in a world that has an app for everything.

In our darker hours, thank you for being the God who draws near.

In our darker hours, thank you for the gracious relief of your presence.

In it we are returned to children,
and all we have to do is need. 

We confess that our suffering whether small or great is unable to change us. But you. You are the  refiner and giver of life. You are the one who meets us in darkness and leads us through it into light.

This will always be true of you, until darkness is no more and you yourself are our tangible light.
We long for this.

Amen.

A Rest of a Different Kind

I woke up thinking about what I would need to face the day.
I thought I needed space, a nap, ample time to "do nothing".
But it didn't come. I never had it.
Instead there was a rest of a different kind.
Thanks for showing up int the presence of others-
for encouraging me in the stories they tell,
for being merciful in the moments the tales are made of.
You are our God, our peace and rest.