Never-failing Hope

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

—Psalm 43:5 (NIV)

O LORD, my God,

You are my Hope!  Yes, You are my never-failing Hope!  May I ever praise You, my Savior and my God!

In those dark times of deep distress, when my soul is downcast and disturbed within me, grant me the wisdom to question myself—to question the truth of the thoughts that have me disquieted.

Help me to exhort myself again to put my hope in the One who never disappoints—to put my hope in You, alone—trusting that You are well able and ever-willing to do that which You have promised to me.

Help me to begin to lift my praise to You in my distress and wait expectantly as You lift me up into Your Presence where Truth is found, my strength is renewed, and where my joy and peace are restored, in my never-failing Hope!

You are my Hope!  Yes, You are my never-failing Hope!  May I ever praise You, my Savior and my God!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

My Portion Forever

I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

—Psalm 73:22-26 (NIV)

Merciful God,

Whom have I in heaven, but You?  And what here on earth could I truly desire besides You?

How foolishly and ignorantly I act, at times!  How I must seem like a senseless animal, the way that I carry on in front of You!

Still, all the while You are continually there beside me, claiming me as Your own and holding tightly to my right hand—so that when I stumble I do not fall completely down, so that when I wander I am not lost forever .

By Your counsel, You lovingly guide me along the way I should go—when I make the time to seek Your face and listen—and You will take me home to my glorious destiny, according to the perfect timing of Your plan.

My body may fail me, and my mind, will and emotions may grow weak, but You will always remain my strength, renewing my spirit forever—for You will never leave me.

You are mine forever!

Whom have I in heaven, but You?  And what here on earth could I truly desire besides You?

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Do Not Lose Heart

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

—2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

May I never lose heart, but always draw on the power of Your Holy Spirit within me, to renew my strength and to face what lies before me on my journey through this life.

Remind me that though my body has been aging since the day I was born, You cause me to be renewed every day in the inner man of my heart—so that I might continue to grow, come to know You more, and become more like You.

Thank You that as I trust in You—as I believe the One in whom I believe—You cause the troubles that I face to become tools which You can use for my good, to mold and fashion me into the person that You want me to be.

As I realize and accept my human limitations, I find I must depend on You.  

And so in humility, I acknowledge the great suffering of my Savior on my behalf, I take my eyes off of the troubles of my brief life and look instead to Your power to save me out of them all, and I embrace the life of joy and peace that You have called me to live here on earth, until that great day when You call me home to be forever with You there.

May I never lose heart, but always draw on the power of Your Holy Spirit within me, to renew my strength and to face what lies before me on my journey through this life.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.