So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deut. 31:6 (NLT)
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isa. 41:10 (ESV)
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Rom. 12:12 (ESV)
Dear heavenly Father, I didn’t sleep a lot last night. Instead of counting sheep, I was counting the storms, crises, and heartaches of your children. There’s so much brokenness, so many challenges, so much need for your presence and grace. The trio of your sons who penned these Scriptures—Moses, Isaiah, and Paul, sing the same song of hope—a song I pray will fill the heart-chambers of good friends.
When fear and panic, shock and dismay are close by, so are you, Father. You go ahead of us into the fray; uphold us when we can’t hold on to anything else; and guarantee the fulfillment of a hope that seems improbable, if not outright impossible. You will never abandon or fail us.
Great, glorious, and grace-full Father, I cry mercy—have mercy O Lord upon friends reeling under the weight of heavy and hard news. The Day of no more cancers or church messes cannot come too soon—the forever of no more crib deaths or pornography addictions; no more over-stressed marriages or memory loss diseases; no more kids walking away from the faith or bosses walking up with pink slips; no more emotional illnesses or unexpected losses—the Day of never having to ask again, “How long, O Lord?”
Father, we will “rejoice in hope” because of Jesus’ empty tomb; we will be “patient in tribulation” because Jesus has overcome for us; we will be “constant in prayer,” because Jesus is always praying for us and the Spirit is praying in us. We praise, bless, and adore you, Father. What would we do, where would we go, who would we trust, if you were not our loving God and faithful Father? So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ trustworthy and worship-worthy name.