Daily Meditations
Psalm 30:5b
Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
With this comes hope. Hope that things will be better. Hope that there will be a morning. It is so easy to not see that when we are in the dark. But there will be a morning. God promises us. Wait for it. The morning comes.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
This is one of my favorite Psalms. When I am stressed I remember these words and they comfort me. I hope that everyone has some words from the Bible that they can member when they need help. I read these words out loud over and over as a mantra and they bring me peace.
No one ever promised a perfect life. The world is not perfect. Bad things happen. The important thing is that no matter what we can count on God being with us. He will go with us down to the depths of despair and while there he will hand us hope. Hope…the thing that is always there. We only have to reach out and take it.
And in times and places where there was not much persecution, people could become and continue Christians who neither were nor professed to be very devoted persons.
Robert Rainy
How will be behave when we are the persecuted? Will we fade into the background or stand up and be counted? Many of us are living in easy times and have not been tested. What will you do?
“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”
– Carl Sandburg
The world seems to be getting worse and worse. I don’t know if it really is more evil or just that we learn about it so much quicker. Sometimes it is hard to believe that there is any hope for mankind. Yet good things still happen and babies are born. I guess God hasn’t given up on us yet.
Prayer: Thank you loving God for continuing to give us a chance. We just don’t seem to learn. Forgive us our sins. Amen
Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace that God gives us to control our fears, not to oust them. Vincent McNabb
I am one of the worst for worrying about things. I cross every bridge before I get to it. When something is really wrong fear can rule my world. We shouldn’t expect all our fears to disappear. This is the real world. But by leaning on God’s grace can I begin to hold fear in check and rely on hope.
Prayer: God, our father and mother, we turn to you as to a loving parent. Help us to remember that you love us and want only the best for us. Help us to bind up fear and put it away. Amen
I have always loved the 23rd Psalm. Especially the part about going down into the valley. God promises to be with us. It says his rod and staff will be there. God is with us in our darkest days. He is the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how bad things are feel the loving arms of God holding you close and know that you are not alone.
Have you ever felt so far down that you couldn’t see any way out? This is what happens to those who contemplate or choose suicide. Living in this kind of darkness is miserable. Strangely enough many of the mystics have been there. It is called “the dark night of the soul.” This is when you can’t imagine God being with you. You may not be able to pray at all. Your belief in God is shaken to the core.
Even though I have never been so far down as to contemplate suicide I have been in a place where I can understand that suicide feels like a peaceful solution. When we are in this place I have felt one thing that has brought light into the darkness: the prayers of others. If you feel yourself sliding down into darkness send out a plea for help. Ask others to pray. Know that they are praying and those prayers will be your lifeline out of the abyss.
If someone asks you for prayer follow through for you may be someones light.
Advent brings so much for us to ponder. What is the meaning of Christmas? How can I get ready for Jesus? What does this season mean to me? Can I stop long enough to remember what it is all about?
We have to look toward Christmas with a ready heart.
Loving God, help us to turn from the busy-ness and dwell on the gift of God. AMEN
We are waiting. Most of the time we don’t wait patiently. We want things to happen now! We are poor examples of your love but we know there is better to come. We have to wait for the goodness that on the way. Spend the time in advent looking forward to the birth of Christ. A blessed baby sent to redeem us and show us how to live each day.
Amazing God, you knew we didn’t understand you and so you sent your son. Thank you. AMEN
Hear God in Other Voices 