Blessings
September 26th, 2011We pray for blessings…
Lord, bless this day. Bless this food. Bless our efforts. Bless our worship. Bless the pastor as he delivers the message.
Lord, give us Your peace, Your comfort, Your healing, Your tender mercies. Enlarge our territory. Be with us and stay close beside us. Keep us from harm. Keep us free from pain.
Lord, give us Your wisdom, Your understanding. Lead, guide and direct us. Show us Your face. Reveal Your mighty hand.
We cry in anger…
Sometimes life is difficult. Sometimes we have to do without. Sometimes our efforts are futile, our worship is empty, Your word doesn’t inspire us. Sometimes no matter how hard we pray, we can’t find peace, comfort, healing. No matter how fervently we seek Your face, the way seems unclear.
It’s as if You’re not even there. Lord, don’t you even care? Can’t You see I’m suffering? Can’t You see I’m at the end of my rope?
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea…
“I am weary of my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
while I wait for my God” (Psalm 69:3).
And long that we’d have faith to believe…
“Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1-2).
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us…
There’ve been so many who have called us “friend” only to turn on us, abandoned us, deeply wound us, family members who’ve inflicted such hurt, such pain. The ache seems so unbearable, the darkness so hopeless, so endless.
We know the pain reminds this heart…this is not our home.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).”
Oh, how I long for home.
What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ (Revelation 21:4-5)”
And what if trials of this life…
“My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3).
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights…
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Are Your mercies in disguise.
Thank you, God, for your many blessings.
Blessings
Copyright © 2011 Laura Story