♪Unto Thee, O Lord...♪

 Thursday, June 3, 2021 (5:50 a.m.)

♪Unto Thee, O Lord…♪

Waking up thinking and singing led me to smiling and thanking. Yes! Thank You God.

Psalm 25, The Voice. A song of David. In alphabetical order no less!

I am confessing fear to You right now. Fear of the unknown. Fear of not accomplishing all that needs to be done. Fear of not knowing exactly what that is.

Right in the midst of that confession came words from the original version of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer. Grace to accept with serenity things that can’t be changed. Courage to change what can. Wisdom to distinguish one from the other.

Oh yes please Lord. This IS my prayer for the day. “Living one day at a time. Enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will…”

Here I confess the hurtful/hate-filled words I used last night. Out of frustration. And again, fear. Struggling with a minor inconvenience, thank You for Your intervention in reminding me to pray and ask You to do for me that which I could not do myself. "I can't. God can. I'll let Him" (First 3 of 12 Steps).

There seems to be a LOT of recovery references going on in and around me right now. Your not so subtle reminder of the importance of love and respect is especially appreciated. As are the smiles that keep coming.

Taking a cue from my own encouragement to others I turn to Psalm 46:10. Here I am immediately heartened and blessed. Holy God, I find I can’t think straight with You answering my need before I even express it.

Back to Your Truth (The Life Recovery Bible comment) in our recovery work. “46:7-11 God, the commander of the heavenly armies, is here among us. If we put our life in His hands, we can rest, confident that He will protect us. He knows our weaknesses and can strengthen us in the needed areas, helping us to overcome the attacks we face each day. Our enemies may be strong, but God is far more powerful than anything that might assail us.”

How perfectly this ties back to the original song (and verse) from earlier!

(7:39 a.m.)

Even though I was mistaken with one of the words I had sung, Your Truth still holds. And gives me another reason to smile. Even laugh. Out loud!

Lord God, You are good. Always. Great. Glorious. Gracious. And I am eternally grateful.

Yes Father. ♪Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul… Oh my God, I trust in Thee, Let me not be ashamed [this is where I first sang “AFRAID”], Let not mine enemies triumph over me♪ Yes. Please!

Thank You for bringing this song to my mind while I was still waking. And placing Your Word in my heart.

Learning that this hymn continues expressing Psalm 25 in its entirety is exciting for me. Never have I looked into it as much as this morning.

Singing the refrain and reading the various translations for the word ashamed (v. 2) again I am delighted. I can make mistakes [singing “afraid”] and it doesn’t change Your Word one bit! Praise You Lord.

(8:48 a.m.)

“I confide in Thee.” I trust in You. Lean and rely on. Yes Father.

♪Let me not be afraid♪ Look! I did it again! The verse says “ashamed!” Put to shame. Disgraced. Disappointed. Confounded. Hangdog skulking. Humiliated. Shame of defeat.

Let me keep smiling at my mistakes Lord. Being willing to “fail better” as I continue growing in You.

Take charge of all there is to be done today. Remind me to filter it all through You. Your will. Your way.

I love You. I long to serve You. And I’m asking YOU to make sense out of the insanity I am creating for myself. Bring me back to the peace I find only in You. Thank You Father. Praise You. Amen.

(673 words ~ 9:06 a.m.)