Good morning, my Lord,
I am here again, before You, at the dawn of a new day. And if I am honest, I enter it with a burden, a sense of anguish that weighs me down.
My first impulse is to flee, to hide from my troubles. I see them only as an obstacle, as something that seeks to destroy me.
Please, help me to look upon suffering with Your eyes, to understand Your purpose in it. Help me to see that good things are truly born in the midst of hardship.
Your Word tells me of an incredible logic, one completely contrary to my own. A logic that does not fear tribulations, but even glories in them.
“Moreover, we glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)
What an incredible chain, Lord! This is not random suffering, but a process guided by You. A process that, from the affliction I so despise, ultimately forges the hope I so desperately need.
Help me to understand that this trial is like a refining fire. That You are testing my faith, not to destroy me, but so that it might become pure, genuine, and precious in Your eyes.
“You will for a little while, if necessary, have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)
When I focus only on the present pain, I forget eternity. Remind me that what I am experiencing now is momentary and light in comparison to what You are preparing for me. Open my eyes to this eternal weight of glory.
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
And sometimes, Lord, being humbled is the only way to make me truly stop and listen. To learn Your statutes, instead of stubbornly persisting in my own ways. Transform my heart, that I may see in this humbling an opportunity to learn.
“It was good for me to be humbled so that I might learn your decrees.” (Psalm 119:71)
And yet, Father, all this is easier said than lived. The feelings are overwhelming. I feel hard-pressed, sometimes without a way out, as if persecuted and struck down. I ask You for strength, that I might not despair, but cling to the truth of Your Word.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
So what, then, should be my response today, in the midst of my circumstances? Your Word gives me clear instructions on how to live out this truth in practice, step by step.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)
This is my prayer for today, Lord. Grant me the grace to rejoice in the hope that You give. Give me supernatural patience in this affliction, and keep me faithful in prayer, in conversation with You, for You are my only treasure, my source of strength and hope.
Amen.
AMEN!!!