The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.
Psalm 34:18
Heavenly Father,
Great is the strength to be found in You. Though we go through the fire and the waters rise...they will not burn nor overtake us.
We will praise You in affliction and in storm; with honor we will seek You and claim the promises of Your Word... and You will hear and deliver us.
Though our hearts may be heavy and our dreams feel shattered within us.... we will set our faces like flint; we will put our trust in You and we will plant our feet upon the rock of Your salvation and we will STAND.
We will open the eyes of our heart to taste and see the good You have intended.... and we will, as so much as it depends on us, do good unto others and seek out what makes for our peace.
We will cling to and know, without a doubt, that we are not alone. And with enlightened hearts, we will see You in all the ways You are our Savior.
As the parent who tenderly cradles, rocks and holds us...
As the brother who took upon himself the punishment we deserved....
As the one we know "all to well" and the one "we hardly know"...the friend and the stranger...the one we pass by on the road or see in the mirror....the one who is kind and merciful, who bandages our wounds and heals our hurts.
You are the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Advocate...who lives within us, that never leaves us nor forsakes us, that pleads our case before the courts of heaven and with the balm of Gilead, redeems all that was broken.
With grateful, renewed, and ever-stronger hearts,
We thank you for Salvation.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
Gina Higgins
Your beautiful words bring the same encouragement, hope and comfort to us that David's psalm delivered(s), but since you live with us in close community, they bring that message of hope in a more "tangible" way...A way that reminds us that His hope is ever "close" and very "present".
ReplyDeleteThank you!