Opening Prayer: O Lord, help us to not lose heart when times
get hard, but instead help us to cling tightly to you. By your Spirit guard us, protect us, and
renew us. Help us to realize that these
light and momentary struggles are achieving for us and eternal weight of glory
that is beyond all comparison. Help us,
O Lord, when things look bleak, to always keep our eyes firmly fixed on you—the
unseen God—rather than on the visible circumstances around us. In the name and power of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Journal: In what ways are you most tempted to lose heart
these days? What is the usual
cause? How do you feel like your “outer
self” is wasting away? How is your
“inner self” being renewed day by day?
What does it specifically mean for you, this week, to fix your eyes
on the unseen rather than what is seen?
Reflection: Long you must suffer, knowing not what, until
suddenly out of spitefully chewed fruit your suffering's taste comes forth in
you. Then you will love almost instantly
what's tasted. No one will ever talk you out of it. ~Rainer Maria Rilke
Prayers
Closing Prayer: So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even
though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on
the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his
unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming
good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than
meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the
things we can’t see now will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, The
Message)
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