At All Times

Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

—Psalm 62:8 (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

Oh, that I would trust You more!

You call to me to trust You at all times—and I respond with sporadic bursts of trust, intermingled with my struggles with doubts and fears.

You want me to trust You in all situations and under all circumstances—and while I find myself easily trusting You with some things, at the same time I catch myself wanting to have control over other things, that I know in my heart are not mine to control.

You want me to trust You, with constancy, in good times and bad.  Yet, when things are going along fine, I sometimes wander off in my own strength—only to be driven back to you in desperation when the next crisis comes crushing in on me and I have nowhere else to go.

You want me to pour my heart out to You.  But I too often take for granted the readily available peace of Your presence with me, the strength of Your power working both in me and on my behalf, and the protection of Your hand upon me—foolishly trying instead to figure things out on my own, rather than sharing the concerns of my heart with You and allowing You to heal all my brokenness.

And all the while, You are a strong tower, a fortress of strength, a place of safety, offering me protection from danger and harm, and making provision for my every need—if I will only trust You.

Oh, that I would trust You more!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

God Works When I Wait

For since the world began,
    no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
    who works for those who wait for him!

—Isaiah 64:4 (NLT)

Father God,

Teach me to wait for You—and remind me that it is the most important thing that I have to do today!

There truly is no God like You.

Since the world began, You have been standing by, ready to work on behalf of anyone who would patiently wait for You—anyone who would take time to be quiet in Your presence, listen for Your voice to speak to them, and allow You to guide and direct their ways.

Help me to see that taking time to be quiet before You is the most important part of my day—so that You can show me the way that I should go and the things that are important for me to do.

Help me to see that if I fail to do this, that I will exhaust myself in busyness and in doing things in my own strength—by my own will—and in the end I will neither accomplish that which You truly want me to do, nor will I become who You truly want me to be.

Help me to understand that the difference my life makes in this world is determined much less by how much I do and much more by how closely my life reflects Christ in me.

Don’t let me to forget that the more I allow You to work for me, the less difficult my life becomes and the more peace and joy I experience.

Teach me to wait for You—and remind me that it is the most important thing that I have to do today!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

God With Us

   But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

   So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

—Matthew 1:20-23 (NKJV)

Lord of my Salvation,

Thank You that through a baby born long ago, You did the impossible—to make it possible for me to experience the joy and peace of Your presence with me.

Thank You that as the infinite and unlimited God, You chose to take on human limitations, and came to the world as a baby, to live with us and die for us—taking on Yourself the penalty for our sin and destroying its power over us.

Thank You for coming to earth to be our Savior—for knowing that we could never save ourselves from our sinful nature or the consequences of our sin—and for paying our debt in full.

Thank You that just like those who experienced the wonder of being in the physical presence of Jesus when He walked upon the earth, I can know His presence and power all around me—and even in me—through the Holy Spirit and can fully experience Immanuel, “God with us.”

Thank You that through a baby born long ago, You did the impossible—to make it possible for me to experience the joy and peace of Your presence with me.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.