O God, help me find the right words when they can bring comfort but help me know when it is best to remain silent and just be present for someone in pain.
Human life is as short-lived as grass. It blossoms like a flower in the field. When the wind blows over the flower, it disappears, and there is no longer any sign of it. [Psalm 103:15-16 (GW)] In reality, all a tombstone marks is a somewhat useless piece of real estate. What will we really leave behind when our days here end? What gift will we bequeath to the living? Lord, help us remember that what really matters won’t be how well we were liked but how much we loved. The number of people we knew won’t be as important as the number of people to whom we offered friendship. The amount of money we had won’t be of consequence, but how much we gave will. The extent of our knowledge will be forgotten, but what we taught will be remembered. What we owned will be of no significance, but how well we shared it will. Our memories will be gone, but others’ memories of us will remain. Guide us, O Lord, in our remaining days.
Epitaph, tombstone inscription in Shrewsbury, England
“For the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
Do all the good you can,
To all the people you can,
In all the ways you can,
As long as ever you can.”
Have you ever seen a blind skier navigate down a mountain slope? The visually impaired skier is guided down the slope by a sighted skier who calls out to him when to turn and which direction to take. The blind skier has to have complete trust in his guide and must listen carefully to his instruction. When his guide says, “Turn right,” the skier doesn’t reply, “Do I really have to?” When told to get off the chair lift, he doesn’t try to second-guess his guide asking, “Are you sure?” When instructed to stop, the blind skier doesn’t argue saying, “But, I don’t want to!” No, he obeys. This is, indeed, a true example of “blind faith.” That is the kind of faith and trust we need to have in our life’s guide: God.
I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide. [Martin Luther]
Heavenly, Father, thank you for the many blessings in our lives: our health and homes, family and friends. Most of all, dear Lord, thank you for your unfailing love. Open our eyes and give us grateful hearts, not just for the joys of life, but also for the stumbling blocks we encounter. Teach us to turn them into stepping stones so that we can better serve you.
God isn’t our personal Neiman Marcus, EBay or Amazon. Making prayer requests is not like looking through a heavenly catalog of blessings and getting to check the items we wish to receive. Like every good parent, God has some guidelines for His gifts to us and our requests must meet with His approval. God certainly isn’t going to offer any divine assistance in sin! Because He loves us, His goal is not our pleasure but rather our salvation! God’s gifts are going to reflect that objective.
Lord, give me the insight to know when my prayers are wrong and patience and persistence when they are right!
We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the Biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God himself. [Oswald Chambers]
There is so much I don’t know and so little that I truly understand. Teach me, Lord, please teach me.
