Week of May 18 - 24

May 18


Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer, from the ends of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
     Psalm 61:1-2

There may be many times when it seems as if God is not listening. When the answers we seek do not appear to us to be immediately evident or forthcoming, our confidence is shaken and our hope is diminished. The ancient psalmist felt this way too. The psalmist didn’t give up; but continued to call to God for help. Even when weak, the cry went forth to the One who can perfectly strengthen our weak spirits.

 Spirit of strength, when we falter within, inspire us with your energy and power. In our moments of weakness, infuse us with new resolve and confidence. Amen.
 

May 19


So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
     2 Corinthians 4:16

It’s tempting to give up. When we see nothing ahead but more of the same uncertainties and threats to our lives, it’s easy to believe it will never get better – and in fact will only grow worse. But even though our physical selves may be weakened and diminished, our spirits do not have to do the same. It is the resolve within that determines who we are and who we will grow and continue to be.


While much around me may be compromised and while I may be constantly challenged, I know you are renewing my spirit in incredible ways. Thank you for lifting me up, O God. Amen.
 

May 20


God, the Lord, is my strength; God makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.
     Habakkuk 3:19

With God’s help we are able to do far more than we ever could do on our own. When we connect with the transcendent power of God and allow that power to lift us up, we can rise higher than we’ve ever risen before. God’s power in our lives enables us to harness more ability, more energy and more stamina than we could ever imagine harnessing under our own power. God’s power – the power of forgiveness, the power of hope and the power of peace – has a profound impact, far beyond our understanding.


O Lord, you lift me up to heights I could never reach on my own. I pray that I may allow your power to take me to new places in my healing and in my life. Amen.
 

May 21


What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
     Romans 8:31

It can seem as if the entire force of our world is against us when we face cancer. Our lives become one appointment, one test, one result, one surgery, one treatment, and one anxious moment after another. Everything is upended. We feel as if we have lost control. Our world is no longer what it once was. But … all is not against us. The scriptures constantly remind us that God is always with us, always on our side. God is the one unmovable constant in our lives, the one who is eternally here to make the world right again.


Thank you, dear God, for sticking with us when everything else seems to be against us. We know when we walk with you we are blessed with a constant source of help. Amen.
 

May 22


In you, O Lord, I take refuge …
     Psalm 71:1a

We are quick to take refuge in many other places rather than in God …in medicine alone, in "quick fixes" or in answers that don’t really deal with the root of our problems. No one solution is enough to care for all our needs. But placing our trust and our lives in God will offer us a foundation that is eternally steady and strong, even when all the other solutions let us down. God’s refuge offers us a peace and a security that no other refuge can.


Help me to take refuge in you, O Lord. Help me to see that you are the eternal source of all my strength and peace. I need you as the foundation for everything else in my life. Amen.
 

May 23


No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
     Romans 8:37

When God’s people break under the burden of illness and human limitation, over and over again, God reaches out to revive and renew us. In all these ways and countless more, God intercedes, over and over again, to help, to save, to restore and revive us – making us more than conquerors over all that rises up to bring us down. In God cancer cannot, will not, destroy us. It may threaten. But it shall not break us because God is stronger than any disease we can know.


We are deeply blessed, O Lord, by your love in our lives. It is infinitely more powerful than anything this world throws in our way. For that we give you thanks. Amen.
 

May 24


My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy.
     James 1:2

Don’t mistake what this passage means. No one expects you to be happy about your difficulties. The word happy comes from the word "happenstance", meaning our feelings depend on what happens to us. But we are expected to strive for joy. Joy is a sense of well-being, a sense of security, a sense of peace, no matter what happens to us. Joy is the feeling we want to achieve. Joy is feeling secure and content in every situation, in every challenge and in every way, knowing that God is taking care of us even in the most difficult of days.


God of joy, help me to know your peace which passes understanding. Help me to feel your security beyond compare. Help me to be well within my spirit no matter what challenges come my way. Amen.