Return to You

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:10-11

I am gathering my wounds, my weaknesses, and my worries and bringing them to You, Lord. I thought I should warn You because it is quite a load. The experiences I have had with suffering created baggage...things that seem to cause me to stumble even now. I thought dragging around evidence of my past mistakes was a sign of strength. They are a heavy burden, and now I realize that I will never be strong until I release them to Your grace.

Receive this junk, this stuff of my life. Restore me with Your strength and mercy. Now that I will not be spending my time moving emotional baggage from here to there and back again, I will be able to serve You better, Lord. It is good to return to You.

Getting Ready

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:13

In the days of my childhood, time had little meaning unless it was relevant to a need. When can I eat? When can I sleep? But now I see that time does not exist to fill my needs. It runs beneath our spirits with undetectable speed as we go about our day. It carries us closer to eternity with such a quiet force that when we do finally notice where we are in the continuum of time, we are amazed and shocked. How could it be year later...a new season...a different stage of life??

God, help me be truly awake these days so that I take in all that Your grace provides. You did not sacrifice for me so that would waste my days. Prepare me to be self-disciplined, to have hope, and to be ready to receive every ounce of grace from You.

Saving Grace

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave." Psalm 107:19-20

Lord, I was proud, and You humbled me. I was selfish, and You showed me compassion. I was cold, and You taught me to feel. I was empty, and You filled me. I was dark, and You brought me into the light.

The power of Your Word came into my being, and I have been saved. Once I looked at my life as meaningless and without purpose beyond physical and material pursuits. Now I understand that my life is one to be lived spiritually and within Your grace. I was unloved, and now I am loved.

Formula for Forgiveness

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37

Just getting dressed or choosing what to have for dinner can seem difficult these days. So why don't I allow some things to be simple? God, You established an easy formula for us to follow. We are called to give others the forgiveness You give to us. You say we can rest easy and stop being the judge, jury and condemner.

It would save me time, energy, effort, and patience if I followed this recipe for peace. I don't know if I will have spaghetti or salad tonight, but I know for certain that I will forgive my neighbor, my friend, the driver in the other lane, and anyone You bring into my life that needs it. It's that simple.