A Prayer: Safe Return of our Youth

A Prayer

Father, You are Lord of all the heaven and the earth; You are omniscient...all knowing...of the good and evil that exist. Help us Father to not lean on our own understanding as to why things happen the way that they do, especially with the heart wrenching tragedies that are happening. There are hurting people, victims of evil acts, and too often our response is to harden ourselves against You, but I have come to know that this is when we can encounter Your presence the most...if we submit humble and not respond arrogantly. Life is no longer distracting, as we feel in tragic moments that everything has been ripped away. While this feeling is very real, I have came to know that You, Father, remain standing...unbothered, unshaken by the happenings around us. I have come to know that we can talk with You face-to-face during this most vulnerable state, no resistance and again no distractions. In this vulnerable state is when we are most penetrable, that the Words that You speak back to us can take root, giving us new perspective and understanding that far exceeds our own overwhelming thoughts. It should not take repeat tragedies to get us to this place of vulnerability, but surrendering to Your voice, to Your care on any given day, to bow down without pressing situations to take us there should be our first nature. In all things I give thanks, even in tragedies, because in this I have witnessed the power and persistence of You pursuing after me. You love us all that much.

For the families who are experiencing tragedies today, it is my prayer that in this vulnerable time that they too come to know the power of Your presence, the persistence of Your pursuing after them, the increased volume of Your voice and a very real face-to-face encounter with You, allowing You to breathe on them a new perspective regarding their situations that carry visions of Your eternal plan that knits the body of Christ together. I am especially remembering our youth who have gone missing, whose lives have been taken prematurely and have taken a wayward path. To them who are able, may their voices cry out from dark places and alert Your angels to come to their aid and be their protection. May they be found today. Today, I declare, darkness will release them and the earth will uncover them...in Jesus' name. Amen!

Storing Up Eternal Rewards

Storing Up Eternal Rewards

"You have heard that it was said, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven..."

"For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors (sinners) do the same. If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary" (Matt. 5:43, 46).

We have been called to be extraordinary, to go beyond the ordinary or the norm. Its always easy to love the people who love us back, to stay within the securities of our norms, and to avoid people who are difficult or our "enemy", but what credit is it to us to do good to those who are good to us? That's a reward in itself...I am most thankful to God to deal with kind and loving people, but there is no extra credit for that. Lets face it, there is no avoiding such people! There will be times when our spouse, children, co-workers, and family members will prove to be our biggest challenge. Every challenging circumstance is an opportunity to store up eternal rewards. 

I use this Scripture often with my volunteers in the nursery. We have such good babies and that's a blessing, but we have one baby who has such anxiety about leaving his mother that he cries for 20-30 minutes non-stop. There have been times where a change of diaper, feeding, singing, praying, and playing did not satisfy him. I would hold on to him, calmly, not passing him around to others because that would only show anxiety overtaking us. On a few occasions we did not succeed in quieting him, but I believe that our ability to stay calm and nurturing has stored us up eternal rewards in heaven. I imagine God will say something to this effect, "thank you for not becoming frustrated with (John Doe), and continuing to love him when it was difficult...here is a reward for that". 

Who is the one person(s) that has been difficult to deal with? Speak their name, acknowledge the situation between you and them, instead of dealing with it in a passive aggressive manner. God wants to use you to initiate the healing process in relationships. He stands ready to help us engage the heart of issues that have been glossed over for generations, which have been responsible for the many generational curses we see today. 

Just as the Lord longs to be gracious to us and rises up to show us compassion, and allows us to experience His mercies that are new every morning, we should have a deep desire to extend this same grace to others...speaking gently and in love. Speaking gently and in love does not mean giving a person a "spoon full of sugar to make the medicine go down", as Mary Poppins would say, or "sugar-coating" the Truth. Examine the practical approaches provided as an example through Apostle Paul and Jesus. Paul focused on areas that the people of Corinth and Thessalonia did well and encouraged them in those areas before he would correct them; and Jesus, when speaking to the 7 churches in Revelation (chapters 2 and 3), pointed out what the churches were doing right before He talked about what lacked.

Therefore, think about an approach and response to "John Doe" that mirrors this example and initiate the healing process...even if we were the one offended. Life is really not about who is right or wrong; it's about graduating to higher levels of maturity. We don't mature by staying upset just because we think we have that right. When we conquer these difficult challenges with people we have stored up eternal rewards.