December 10
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
Psalm 5:3How have you started this new day? Are you beginning with an attitude of dread and regret? Are you looking ahead to the challenges before you with anxiety and fear? Are you looking back on yesterday with disappointment and discontent? With what attitude are you facing this date in your life? Do you assume you must face the road alone, without help or support, relying on your uncertain knowledge and strength? Or do you look at this day as an opportunity to put your trust in the certainty of God’s loving, caring hands, hands that are reaching out to you?
Before I try to go on one minute more on just my own power, I know I must look to you and your power to find the lasting help I need. You are a blessing to me and I need you more and more each day. And in my need I find I am more and more blessed each day. Thank you, O God. Amen.
December 11
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9Peace and healing are closely related. To establish peace we must mend the brokenness in and around us. To maintain peace we must create the conditions that foster a continuing healthy environment. To find healing we must create an atmosphere of peace in all parts of our lives. Within our minds, throughout our bodies and by our spirits, we need to foster a deepening sense of contentment and fulfillment. When we do we transform our circumstances and our pathway. We set ourselves on a better path, the more positive path we need.
The peace I most need, O God, is peace within my own soul. Help me to find the very real satisfaction I am looking for. When I do I know I will be on a brighter journey of healing and hope. Amen.
December 12
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Psalm 7:17Cancer survivors understand that gratitude is at the very heart of creating an atmosphere of healing. Survivors know that it is essential to be in the right state of mind to focus on hope for the journey. They believe that living thankfully and appreciatively is a profound requirement for achieving the state of well-being they seek. Being mindful of the need to find goodness and count blessings is ever-present in a survivor’s life. They focus on what is right and what is good, what is positive and what is eternal. They look beyond temporary setbacks to seek evidence of lasting answers and help. When they do they find the evidence they need.
The more I look for the blessings you give me, dear God, the more I see signs and wonders of your amazing love. Every time I realize one good thing you do, I come to recognize there are so many more good things than I never knew before. Thank you for compounding the blessings in my life. Amen.
December 13
We grope like the blind along a wall, groping like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among the vigorous as though we were dead.
Isaiah 59:10 When we attempt to make this journey on our own, we just cannot do it well. We have been created by a loving God who does not want us to carry the burdens all alone. God desperately wants us to rely on divine power to help us with those things that are too hard, too complicated or too vast for us to understand. We have not been created to be perfect or strong all the time. We do not know all the secrets of the universe, nor do we need to. God is big enough to handle everything we cannot. When we begin to understand and accept that – and to rely on God’s power for the things we are unable to do, we become free to enjoy the benefits of God’s guidance and the strength of God’s arms to carry us through.
All knowing God, in my ignorance and willfulness I try to do more than I am able to do on my own. But it only gets me in trouble and keeps me from being my best. I know you are here to help me. And today I know I need to trust more in you. Amen.
December 14
… "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."
Matthew 26:52If our reaction to cancer or to trouble of any kind is to hold on to anger and to react with resentment and bitterness, we will reap much of the same in return. If we create an atmosphere of negativity and despair we will surely find negativity and despair filling our lives. But, if we choose – and it is a choice – to look at our challenges as opportunities to change, to learn and to rise above them, we can accomplish amazing things. Our lives and health can be transformed when we decide to create an atmosphere of joy, gratitude and well-being instead. We have been given the power to choose. What will your choice be?
Thank you, gracious God, for putting within me the power to live a life of thanksgiving and wonder. Thank you for allowing me to choose and for showing me how to choose what is good and best. Today I look for your wisdom to show me how to make the right choices for my life. Amen.
December 15
We all growl like bears; like doves we moan mournfully. We wait for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
Isaiah 59:11Our complaints are many and varied. We seldom find contentment and peace with our circumstances and situations, especially when we’re sick. We are slow to see what is good and quick to list what we view as wrong. It’s been like that since the beginning of human time. But God is gracious toward us. And God understands us, because God has made us. In God’s intimate knowledge of our minds and hearts, God certainly understands our reasons for doubt and despair. And that is exactly why God takes care of us when we cannot see how to care for ourselves. While we are quick to grumble and complain, God is even quicker to begin to meet our needs before we even know what they are.
I am so grateful you understand my restless mind, patient God. When I get into a place where I fail to see how you are at work, you continue to work for my well-being – in spite of me. And I find immense comfort in that. Amen.
December 16
One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people."
Acts 18:9-10We may be utterly surprised how often God speaks to us to reassure us that on this journey we are protected and guided. But too often we listen and look for God in some grand way, when God is speaking and working through different ways. We easily overlook the quiet, gentle voice of God as it speaks to us of hope, help and healing. God’s voice seldom comes through in thunderous and outwardly dramatic ways, But it comes most often in a caring touch from a friend, in a word of comfort from a doctor, in a prayer from an understanding neighbor or in a forgiving gesture from someone who loves us. God is working in more ways than we can begin to know or count. God is working through many others, even those we do not know.
How easy it is to overlook the subtle and yet obvious work you are doing for me, dear God. I miss it by forgetting how you often act – in gentle gestures, thorough countless others, in infinite ways. Today I will remember. Amen.
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