As the rain and snow

“Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

All day long they injure my cause;
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk…
You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?
Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?..
 I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.” Psalm 56:1-6,8-13

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

My soul is in the midst of lions..—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.” Psalm 57:1-4

Psychological attacks and physical ailments, flesh impulses and flesh persecution, crime and oppression. Pressure, strife, and suffering are heavy and persistent, menacing and formidable, unsettling and painful. But they are no match against God whose word is unshakable and who can always be trusted. Match for match, God’s goodness overwhelms evil, His strength swallows the sinister, His comfort soothes suffering, His defense is sure against every ill and power.

What cultural pressures or attacks on mind or body are causing fear? What nagging opposition to my zeal, my hope, my confidence, my joy, pursues my soul? What weariness and worry swamp me in a slough of depression? Considering and praising the greatness of God will refocus my perception, embolden my defenses, and help allay the enemy’s onslaught. How and in what situations will I practically put my trust in Him?

“If God is for us, who can be against us?.. Christ Jesus… is at the right hand of God,.. interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?.. 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31,34-35,37-39

Lord, keep my faith steadfast. Help me praise and trust in You, whose love and faithfulness are greater than any enemy. (Psalm 57:7-10)

“I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?’

“And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.  Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,  and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain… 

“‘If anyone is to be taken captive,
    to captivity he goes…’

“Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints…”

“Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.  And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists… singing a new song before the throne…

“’Fear God and give him glory,.. and worship him who made heaven and earth.’” Revelation 13:1-10; 14:1-3a,7

When transient man comes up against authority, it is a natural response to fear. In the flesh, we are drawn to power, and so fear it in a sense that we worship what it affords us: control, the making of our own life choices, even favor from the one who bestows it. Those who know not Christ are attracted to power with warped understanding, marveling with trembling because of distorted priorities and ultimate accountability to what they fear. Who can fight against it? In Christ, we learn a proper fear of the only true and benevolent Authority, not a lust for power but fear bridled with power that is actually imparted spiritually to us. Everything hinges on who we believe to reign.

Without a divine plumb line, our hankering for earthly power draws us to enticements of the world. “All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.” We choose false worship, settling for false promises over discernment and power-giving surrender to the Holy Spirit. We succumb to the wiles of the enemy, misguided crowd-think disguised as the majority’s flash and fancy. True wisdom comes only from fearing the Lord. (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; Matthew 4:8-10; Acts 1:8)

What and whom do I worship? What fear and greed need I surrender to bow before the Holy One and yield reverently to His authority?

Lord, teach me to fear You alone, and so live in the power that exalts Your grace and glory.

“Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: ‘Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.^’ Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and… his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to… a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?”’

“But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, ‘Do not answer him.^’ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah… the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

“As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.” Isaiah 36:13-37:1

Kings and kingdoms rise and fall, the King of kings has made them all. Assyria’s king was strutting his strength before godly Hezekiah, but God almighty ruled. Nothing he threatened, no provocation or cajoling, would jar Israel’s faith or alter the protection of the Almighty.

Discerning between voices of those who own or pretend authority takes a keen ear trained in truth. The enemy disguises himself as benevolent but persistently speaks to deceive and accuse, and only the Word will conquer his lies. Since the beginning, he’s tempted man to doubt God’s goodness, care, and provision, but the word of God, His promises and character, will stand forever. In our everyday, he speaks through media and situational experts to reorient and unsettle, often resulting in confusion over orthodoxy and whom we can trust. It’s vital we learn which voices to heed. (Genesis 3:1-5; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 4:1-11; 1 Peter 1:25; Revelation 12:9-12)

Where do we go when faced with opposition? To whom do we turn for direction and deliverance? How well do we know the scriptures so we recognize counterfeit messages? What are we doing to know them better?

“Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!” ~ Robert Grant (1833)

Lord my King, keep my allegiance, hope, and trust in You alone.

“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods… You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose… to put his name and make his habitation. There you shall go, and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present… And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes… Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the Lord will choose… And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake.” Deuteronomy 12:1-8,13-14a,18b

Omniscient God knows the strongest proclivities of the human heart and the highest good of heaven, and through our days on earth works to fuse them together. From the start with His chosen nation, he spelled out His way and place of blessing, then allowed the exercise of human will to choose His best. He clarified dangers and prohibitions, and alternative choices that brought His richest good. Obedience would require both dispossessing and seeking, destroying and bringing, relinquishing self and rejoicing in Him. There are always give ups and take cares when we choose to follow Christ.

The longer we live this side of eternity, the more we self-determine. A decisive will becomes default, and in the complacency of ease we neglect to inquire about God’s plans. We settle into idol-filled spaces and coddle comforts without conviction. We extend little to no effort to seek Him because we’re so accustomed to doing things our way in our time, giving what we can afford and serving when convenient.

Yet God’s intent for His children is so much more significant and sanctifying. He desires we enjoy fruitfulness and expansion in the days we undertake, but that comes with continual doing right and tending to the holy things of life. It requires taking care, not relaxing our guard. (Deuteronomy 12:20,23-26,28)

Where have we settled into an easy groove away from fellowship? How have the culture’s enticements lured us from committed worship? Do we regularly make decisions based on preference, convenience, or self-indulgence rather than the Lord’s voice, wisdom, and methods? What can we identify as pitfalls, gruff rebellions, and secret high places where we store and stroke little gods, and how will we deal with them in order to redirect our efforts God’s way?

Lord, turn my ways and places to Yours, so Yours is all the praise.

“Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say,.. “Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?..

“To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing…

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.” Isaiah 40:9-14,25-26,28-29

The cry to God’s people is up, get you up a high mountain and lift your voice, call to all, Behold your God! Look at Him! Ponder Him! Gaze in awe at who He is, the Lord GOD, mighty sovereign self-existent Ruler! He is who He is and always has been, the God of gods, supreme and supernatural, wholly other and apart yet intimately involved with you. And keep watching! Behold what He does as He tends and provides, leads and holds and protects His own. Consider how He crafted the heavens and earth and measured the seas, how He balances gravity and weight and upholds spinning heavenly orbs. Think how He instilled in the heart of man a sense of justice, conscience, thought processes, delight, the intersection of senses. Look at Him, to Him! Behold, and marvel! (Colossians 1:15-17)

As we behold, we see more of God and less of self. We learn awe and to worship Him for who He is separate from us, whether we ever existed. He becomes more, we less. The more acquainted we are, the more we magnify His greatness and character, long for Him and to be like Him and to know Him better. (John 3:30)

How can my thoughts be lifted by getting high and away with Jesus? How might beholding my King and Shepherd affect how I manage responsibilities, family, friends? What do others behold of Christ in me?

Lord, quiet me daily to behold who You are and what You do, all of You in (and to) Your glory.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!..

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” Psalm 92:1-5, 12-15

This was A Song for the Sabbath, for the day set aside from work to rest from labor and unto the God who’d provided it. A day for gladness, remembering, expressing thanks and praise. In the economy of time, what practice is through the hours over a day becomes a rhythm over weeks and years. All-day declaring becomes all-life living, all breath and effort given to the exaltation of the Lord, flourishing in fruitfulness that reflects His faithfulness.

To determine what a body declares takes an intentional mindset. Where am I relegating specific time and attention to praise my God, declaring with zeal in song, word, and deed His greatness? What Sabbath practices have become or will I develop as weeklong habits?

“I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1

We fly borne by winds of culture or establish deep roots in the secret place with God. We either fall into new days with casual and haphazard let’s see what comes, or we set ourselves to lift high the name and character of God Almighty no matter what comes. We react from spontaneous emotion or respond from scripture-soaked discernment. We make capricious assessments from a vantage of self-victimization, or we perceive and accept circumstances through the lens of God’s sovereignty. We babble with empty words or we draw from the unchanging truth of the sure Rock. (Psalm 31:20; 90:12; 91:1; Isaiah 45:3; Matthew 6:6; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22; Hebrews 5:14)

“Through [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Hebrews 13:5

What will it be for me? Do I produce from days planted with purpose, or prattle through unmeasured time with ambiguity? What does my attitude at the start of the day, or in untoward circumstances, declare of God’s goodness? What do my demeanor, words, and actions portray of His character? Do people with whom I interact know more of Him having spent time with me? Do my actions and reactions mimic His grace, wisdom, and love?

Lord, keep me singing from morning till night and day to day of Your wondrous worth, Your deeds and ways. May Your glory be my ongoing declaration. (Psalm 96:2,7-9; 98:1)

“Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’..

“When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^[c] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Revelation 6:1,7-11

Transported to heavenly visions while in exile on Patmos, John watches the Lamb unseal the scroll revealing the determined future. The juxtaposition between certain judgment of the wicked and relief and redemption for those slain in Christ is stark. For one, the specter of the pale horse of death and Hades; for the other, bright and certain hope in life awaited fulfillment. For one, rebels meeting their Maker’s horrid punishment; for the other, robes of rest and promise that they’d wait just a little longer for God’s consummation. (Revelation 1:9-10,19)

We are all destined for death. Since Eden that is our certain earthly end, our days here below numbered by our Heavenly Father. And God has also determined eternity thereafter. Are we facing pallid hopelessness in judgment, or bright color-rich everlasting life? Those who believe in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection in their behalf will be with Him forever in gladness and light. Where do we stand in faith? (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:19; Psalm 139:16; John 3:16; Hebrews 9:27)

Those sealed in Christ need not fear any seal opened. Knowing we are secure in Christ fills us with palpable hope in hard times and perspective in uncertainty and longing. Christ’s robe of grace gives perseverance in temptation and deep peace in pain. We can bear consternation and suffering with soul rest, and agonies of earthly grief with heavenly solace. (Revelation 7:2-3)

What difference is a future of promise making in present circumstances? It should be substantial. How has hope lifted heaviness and depression, or enriched meaning in challenging work and relationships? Where will we apply the balm of ultimate relief to ongoing physical pain or sadness? What scripture memory or practice of thanksgiving could transform current woes and complaints, and make us easier to live with? How can our hope-filled outlook lift another to bring relief and refreshment? What are we doing to share it? (James 1:2-4; Revelation 7:9-17)

Lord, help me live so obviously in Your promise that You are continually exalted and others are drawn to the eternal hope You offer.

“There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” Psalm 86:8-13

David asks for an undivided heart, whole and united in and under his Lord. His desire is the outflow from a full heart that knows his God is unique, omnipotent, all-wise, worthy of worship, trust, and thanks. With sights filled with adoration of his Savior, why would he want to share his affection or devotion with idols, why would he seek any other wisdom? He’d been captivated by his Sovereign’s irresistible love, and so his heart belonged to Him. If one could poke David’s divinely-shaped heart, it would express the heart of God. (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22)

We are so fickle in the flesh. The human heart swells with pride and lust, shrinks in greed, and hardens toward compassion. It is sucked in by exaggerated emotions and warped by perverted values. When we put our importance or agenda or passions on life’s pedestal, our view of the true God is dimmed. In our divided heart His supremacy is distorted, He gets demoted by lesser lovers. To gaze at the Lord, to recount His deeds, to lift high His name and seek His truths all guard the heart and keep it whole.

Where have we allowed a breach? Have we smugly assumed we can share our heart’s throne with idols, or grown lukewarm in our love for Christ? Are we more intent on counting our achievements than the deeds of the Lord? What needs be reordered, set aside, redirected, in order for us to offer undivided, fiery devotion to the worthy Lord of Lords? (Revelation 3:15-16)

How might a whole heart be expressed anew toward the Lord in adoration and thanksgiving? Toward the needy in benevolence and generosity? Within the fellowship of church in encouragement and mutual edification? The more we fill the cracks with right effort and affection, the fuller it will be.

“There have been days when I would die for You
And days when I would not die to me
There have been nights when I would cry with You
For the sins of the world and the pain in the city
But some nights I cried only tears of self-pity
I need a love that will always endure
Give me a love that is simple and pure

“Give me an undivided heart
Place a new spirit in me
Give me an undivided heart
That I may fear Your name.” ~Twila Paris (1990)

Worthy Lord, receive my soul, my life, my all in thanksgiving and praise. May my heart beat wholly for Your glory.

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,  but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

“The Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.  He will love you, bless you, and multiply you…  You shall be blessed above all peoples.” Deuteronomy 7:6-9,12-13a,14a

“There is none who does good,
    not even one.” Psalm 14:3

“You did not choose me, but I chose you.” John 15:16a

From the outset, God wanted His people to know that they were chosen, and why. He selected Abraham from a heathen background to come out from Ur, then Haran, to be a new nation in a new land, a new relationship, a new faith, a new purpose. He set His affection on them and set them apart to bring blessing to the world, ultimately His word and the Living Word, Jesus. His lure of their will and the light of His face would lead them. The call, the choice, the regeneration was all of Him; the obedience was Abraham’s. (Genesis 11:31-12:4a; Psalm 89:15,28,33-34)

Man likes to think of himself more highly than he ought. It feels good to compare ourselves with others and come out on top: more righteous, superior in knowledge, experience, strength. The better we are, the more we deserve. Hard work, latent talent, successes all contribute to an inflated self-esteem. But before Almighty God we are put in our place. We’ve all fallen short of His glory and perfection, and deserve not His favor. (Romans 3:23; 12:3)

His grace shines into our dark flesh to awaken faith. His undeserved mercy woos and transforms us to realize we are loved because He is loving, and love itself, not because we have earned it. (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 4:8)

When did we last marvel at the deep love of the Father, allowing it to soak in and invigorate our love for Him and others? Would we spend alone time in meditation or song? When have we last confessed our smugness in thinking we deserve His affection? How does security in His steadfast love embolden our confidence and hope, and free us to love others?

“I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart –
His wounds have paid my ransom.” ~Stuart Townend (1995)

Lord, may I sing of Your steadfast love forever, and live as Your chosen to bring You the glory You deserve. (Psalm 89:1)

“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again.  Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan.'” Deuteronomy 3:23-27

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:13-16

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.” Matthew 17:1-3

Humble, faithful Moses wrestled with God’s pronounced punishment at the rock. Now, after 40 years of leading hundreds of thousands of grumbly Israelites through the wilderness, couldn’t he stand in the land that God promised? Couldn’t every sense take in the divine possession? Couldn’t he feel its grass and breathe its air and smell its cedars? Please? But the word of his great and mighty God held true. He would not enter the land, but would experience the heavenly fulfillment of earthly longing that faith enables. God’s grace was sufficient for the hard answer, the hope for the unseen, the waiting for glory. (Numbers 20:10-12; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 11:1)

Unmet longings can train us to reorient perspective and desire. While Moses wanted to take in the new land, along the way he’d taken in remarkable and life-enriching knowledge of God. The journey became opportunity, and he seized it wholeheartedly. He turned his own disappointment into potent instruction and rich worship. (Deuteronomy 4:32-40; 34:10-12)

What unfulfilled longings in my life might God be using to develop my faith in Him? Where could temporal sight be transformed to spiritual sight? Where might long waiting become long worship? How has God used time I would not have orchestrated to work miracles in mind and circumstance I would never have dreamed? (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Lord, please translate my every longing to sure and robust faith. Fill and fulfill the number of my days so You are trusted and exalted. (Exodus 23:26; Psalm 38:9; 87:7)