moving through suffering, day 3

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Father, I know my wounded and broken places oh so well. At times they can consume me and keep me from being able to hear your voice. Help me to see my pain as an invitation to know you more intimately rather than a reason to doubt the goodness of your heart. Help me to know that through my pain you desire to accomplish something very good in me. In the name of Jesus, the author of our salvation, who was “made perfect through suffering.” Amen. (JLB)

 

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 121

Scripture for the Day: Romans 8:18-38

Reading for Reflection:

The heart is stretched through suffering, and enlarged.  But O the agony of this enlarging of the heart, that one may be prepared to enter into the anguish of others!  Yet the way of holy obedience leads out from the heart of God and extends through the Valley of the Shadow.

     But there is also removable suffering, yet such as yields only to years of toil and fatigue and unconquerable faith and perchance only to death itself.  The Cross as dogma is painless speculation; the Cross as lived suffering is anguish and glory.  Yet God, out of the pattern of His own heart, has planted the Cross along the road of holy obedience.  And he enacts in the hearts of those He loves the miracle of willingness to welcome suffering and to know it for what it is-the final seal of His gracious love.  I dare not urge you to your Cross.  But He, more powerfully, speaks within you and me, to our truest selves, in our truest moments, and disquiets us with the world’s needs.  By inner persuasions He draws us to a few very definite tasks, our tasks, God’s burdened heart particularizing His burdens in us.  And He gives us the royal blindness of faith, and the seeing eye of the sensitized soul, and the grace of unflinching obedience.  Then we see that nothing matters, and that everything matters, and that this my task matters for me and for my fellow men and for Eternity.  And if we be utterly humble we may be given strength to be obedient even unto death, yea the death of the Cross.

     In my deepest heart I know that some of us have to face our comfortable, self-oriented lives all over again.  The times are too tragic, God’s sorrow is too great, man’s night too dark, the Cross is too glorious for us to live as we have lived, in anything short of holy obedience.  (A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: It is Well

When peace like a river attendeth my way;

when sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say;

It is well, it is well, with my soul

Refrain:

It is well….with my soul…it is well, it is well with my soul

My sin O the bliss of this glorious thought;

my sin not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more;

praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight;

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll

The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;

even so it is well with my soul

Closing Prayer
Father, heal my wounds and make them a source of life for others; as you did with your Son Jesus. In whose name we pray. Amen. (JLB)

moving through suffering, day 2

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Father, I know my wounded and broken places oh so well. At times they can consume me and keep me from being able to hear your voice. Help me to see my pain as an invitation to know you more intimately rather than a reason to doubt the goodness of your heart. Help me to know that through my pain you desire to accomplish something very good in me. In the name of Jesus, the author of our salvation, who was “made perfect through suffering.” Amen. (JLB)

 

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 121

Scripture for the Day: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Reading for Reflection:

Dear Jesus,

     Thank you for the hard and sometimes uphill road I have had to walk in following you.  I am stronger because of it.  And we are closer because of it.  For all good things that have come to me along the way, I thank you.

     But I have to say, I wish it were an easier way, a shorter way, a more scenic way.  I wish the road didn’t have to go past the garden of Gethsemane, with its darkness and loneliness and tears.  I wish it just went in endless circles around the seashores of Galilee, and that walking with you were more of a serene stroll in the sunset.

     Help me to understand that Gethsemane is as necessary as Galilee in the geography of a growing soul.  Help me to remember that even though you were a son, yet you learned obedience through the things you suffered. 

     Paul talks about entering into fellowship of your suffering.  I do so very much look forward to having fellowship with you, but honestly, Lord, the thought of having too suffer to experience it stops me in my tracks.

     Help me, Lord Jesus, to want your company more than I want serenity, and to love fellowship with you more than I fear the suffering necessary to enter into it.

(Reflections on the Word by Ken Gire)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: It is Well

When peace like a river attendeth my way;

when sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say;

It is well, it is well, with my soul

Refrain:

It is well….with my soul…it is well, it is well with my soul

My sin O the bliss of this glorious thought;

my sin not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more;

praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight;

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll

The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;

even so it is well with my soul

Closing Prayer
Father, heal my wounds and make them a source of life for others; as you did with your Son Jesus. In whose name we pray. Amen. (JLB)

moving through suffering, day 1

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Father, I know my wounded and broken places oh so well.  At times they can consume me and keep me from being able to hear your voice.  Help me to see my pain as an invitation to know you more intimately rather than a reason to doubt the goodness of your heart.  Help me to know that through my pain you desire to accomplish something very good in me.  In the name of Jesus, the author of our salvation, who was “made perfect through suffering.”  Amen. (JLB)

 

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 121

Scripture for the Day: Hebrews 2:10-18

Reading for Reflection:

In praying about my wounds I have come to believe that the reason these wounds take so long to heal is that I spend more time attacking them than trying to understand them.  I keep trying to clog up the hole made by the wound.  The reality is that I keep stuffing my wound with other addictions, always hoping for some miraculous cure.  The healing needs to happen right there in that broken place because it is there that I am vulnerable.  It is there in that crack in my spirit that the light of Christ can slip through and help me understand the wound.  When Jesus rose, his wounds were still visible.  The scars could be seen right in the midst of the glory.  Is my life, patterned after Christ, to be any different?

     The scars in my life have become my badges of victory and glory.  Some healing has taken place, yet as I pray with these scars I am able to see that I will probably have to live with some of the pain I’ve inherited from my cluttered life.  I am learning to befriend my scars and find the gifts hidden underneath. (Seasons of the Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: It is Well

 

When peace like a river attendeth my way;

when sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say;

It is well, it is well, with my soul

 

Refrain:

It is well….with my soul…it is well, it is well with my soul

 

My sin O the bliss of this glorious thought;

my sin not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more;

praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul

 

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight;

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll

The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;

even so it is well with my soul

 

Closing Prayer
Father, heal my wounds and make them a source of life for others; as you did with your Son Jesus.  In whose name we pray. Amen. (JLB)

seek, day 7

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:

Father, You alone know what lies before me this day. Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. For my Lord Christ’s Sake. Amen. (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: Psalm 63:1-8

Reading for Reflection:

We must know before we can love.  In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.  Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive.  It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


Closing Prayer
Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me. I leave myself with you. Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you. Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)

seek, day 6

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:

Father, You alone know what lies before me this day. Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. For my Lord Christ’s Sake. Amen. (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: Psalm 27:4-14

Reading for Reflection:

Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions.  He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone.  You would think it rude to leave a friend alone, who came to visit you: why then must God be neglected?  Do not then forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a Christian.  In a word, this is our profession; if we do not know it, we must learn it. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


Closing Prayer
Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me. I leave myself with you. Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you. Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)

seek, day 5

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:

Father, You alone know what lies before me this day. Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. For my Lord Christ’s Sake. Amen. (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 55:6-13

Reading for Reflection:

He can’t be used as a road.  If you’re approaching Him not as the goal, but as a road, not as the end but as a means, you’re not really approaching Him at all. (A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


Closing Prayer
Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me. I leave myself with you. Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you. Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)

seek, day 4

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:

Father, You alone know what lies before me this day. Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. For my Lord Christ’s Sake. Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: 2 Chronicles 7:12-22

Reading for Reflection:

That practice which is alike the most holy, the most general, and the most needful in the spiritual life is the practice of the presence of God.  It is the schooling of the soul to find its joy in His divine companionship, holding with Him at all times and at every moment humble and loving converse, without set rule or stated method, in all time of our temptation and tribulation, in all time of our dryness of soul and disrelish of God, yes, and even when we fall into unfaithfulness and actual sin. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


Closing Prayer
Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me. I leave myself with you. Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you. Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)