Jesus, Are You beckoning usin our suffering? “Come to Me” (Mt. 11:28-30). When deep waters threaten to drown us? (Ps. 69:1)When words wound, relationships crumble,and our hearts are broken? “Come to Me.” When others criticize, condemn, shame, blame, and judge our motivations— Deliver me, O my God, from the hand Read more
Lord Jesus, Messiah and King, Great God! from thee there’s nought concealed, Thou seest my inward frame; To thee I always stand revealed Exactly as I am. (“Access to God in Christ,” Newton, J., p.d. Sing to the tune of “Joy to the World!”) You see my suffering, You see Read more
Downsizing fifteen minutes at a time this summer, going through bins and boxes of artifacts and mementos saved from childhood, I saw progressions of meaning in what I valued most. What I “worshipped.” So many idols. Yet I also see that God was loving me, drawing me to Himself before Read more
Are you staring toward a new and daunting change, a needed unknown? Something that seems far beyond your capacity to handle it? Our Lord just carried me through one as we quickly downsized from a three-story house to a one-floor apartment, and at times it felt like crossing the Jordan Read more
David was afraid. Of course! Running for his life, leaving his loved ones and home behind, living off the land, he hid in fear of attack and death at the hands of his enemy. For 20 years, scholars say. Vulnerable. Humbled. Lonely. Living in darkness. Dependent on God’s grace. For Read more
Jesus, As we suffer, ebbs and waves of tumult threaten to drown us. Noisy uproar. Words of online and media crowds that confuse our thoughts. Expectations pulling us under. Changes and unrest that seek to rob us of Your peace and joy. It all aims to tug us away from Read more
I’ll never forget the compassionate care of the medical helper. She quietly entered my hospital room and touched my arm. “I’d like to give you a sponge bath.” After multiple nights of sweating through agonizing and intractable pain, after one of the most pain-full surgeries one can endure, her hushed Read more
Many try to comfort me by telling me what they think God is up to as I suffer with remaining chronic illnesses and pain. They anticipate what He must be teaching me through this. They peer into the future and imagine how He must be working. They attempt to give Read more
Abba Father, what a comfort to know that Jesus is praying for me and every one of His beloved followers, as we suffer earthly trials. Along with Your permanent sealing and protection of a true believer by Your indwelling Holy Spirit, this is how we can cling to Your promised Read more
Love Divine, all loves excelling, As I pray for my suffering sisters in Christ, Your Romans 8 love songs fill my heart. Your love is far stronger than our tribulation. It continues steadfast when our own weakens, in our constant distress, with every ache in this fallen world of sin. Read more
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