fresh mercies

Monday, March 24, 2014 (6:58 a.m.)

Blessed Father,

Thank You for Your faithfulness. Your kindness. Your fresh mercies. Mm, yes. Thank You for the opportunity to come before You to explore The Gift of Our Emotions.

I turned in Your Word [The Life Recovery Bible] to Lamentations. Intending to head directly to 3:21-23, I stopped instead at the Book Introduction. Once again I find hope in Jeremiah's honest approach to You. I am struck by the sheer poetry of his words. How very grateful I am for the privilege to be open before You.

Blessed God, I read of grief, consequence and forgiveness. Humility. Loss. And freedom. Under RECOVERY THEMES is The Importance of Grief. “Grief is the process that helps us to recover from our losses. In it we come to terms with our past and find freedom to live in the reality of the present.”

Father, there is so much more here than I could have even imagined. I just followed Your lead to this treasure trove of tranquility! Thank You. Thank You for the peacefulness that seems to have enveloped me.

Yesterday I gave You little more than a moment of myself. Today I sit here quietly rejoicing in Your loving-kindness that comes to us fresh each morning. Reading the Truth of all we are in You, again I am grateful for the hope that comes from trusting You. Your Word. Your promises.

Thank You for this hope that encompasses our steps toward trusting You with our lives, our thoughts, our loved ones. Trust, faith, hope are all risky. Things might turn out the way we want. We may get hurt. Opening ourselves up instead of closing ourselves off can be scary. Potentially painful.

Yet until we take that giant leap of trusting You to provide fresh mercies everyday, we run the risk of stagnating in cocoons of our own making. We cannot keep ourselves safely wrapped away from the hurts that might assail us. We need to trust You for the strength that comes from Your mighty power within us (Ephesians 6:10).

That is exactly what I ask of You this morning Blessed Father. Provide my every need. Your strength. Your power working in and through me. Guide my thoughts. My actions. Direct me to Your fresh mercies that I would freely share them with all in need of them.

I love You Father. I need You. Bless me and keep me in the workings of Your Word. Thank You for allowing me into Your presence. Grow me. Use me. I love You. Amen.

(428 words ~ 8:59 a.m.)