EXPAND TO READ: LAMENTATIONS 3 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 17-18): I have lived in a depressive mindset for quite some time, Father; often forgetting what happiness is and thinking my future is lost as well as any hope I had in You in those moments, just like in these verses. Please forgive me for this, Father. Forgive me for dwelling in the negative without bringing it to You for so long that I just continually dug myself into a deeper and deeper hole. Forgive me for losing my faith and reliance on You through those difficult times, which blinded me from the good things that was happening in my life.
PROMISE (verses 22-23): The promise here is one that I need to remember to cling to far more often than I have been since coming to faith. You tell us that You give us a faithful love that never perishes and that Your mercies have no end. You promise us that Your faithfulness and love are there for us every morning if we just ask for it and accept it. Help me to remember this every morning, Father. Remind me to accept this promise every day that You give me another day’s breath, so that I may always accept this amazing promise You’ve given us.
ATTITUDE (verses 25-28): Help me with the attitudes of patience and silence, Father. I know silence isn’t necessarily an attitude, but it is something that I struggle with often. You say here that You are good to those who wait for You and that it is good to wait quietly. I struggle with both of these as I am very impatient with many things, but I also find it difficult to remain silent most of the time. I find that I “need” to say something in most situations instead of just sitting back and patiently listening and waiting for Your wisdom to come to me. Help me with these attitudes, Father, so that I may glorify You in my thought life and my spoken words.
COMMAND (verse 39): Wow, Father! You really said this and I felt like You were kind of yelling at me with this particular verse. You say, “why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins?” I do tend to have a complainer’s mindset, unfortunately, but oftentimes I find myself complaining about the results of something I got myself into due to my own mistakes. Help me to follow this command, Father, so that in the future I willingly accept Your discipline and correction for my own transgressions.
EXAMPLE (verses 40-41): The example You give here is powerful to me. It shows me that we are never fully and truly lost, we have just chosen to stay in those broken ways. You tell us to search out and examine our ways, turning back to You. You tell us to lift up our hearts and hands to You, Father. Help me to live in this example more consistently, so I do not become lost in my selfish ways again, Father. Help me to always remember to examine my ways to ensure that they are God-focused and not Filip-focused. Help me to live in a way that glorifies and praises You with my physical and emotional self in this life.
*DAILY NOTE: Lamentations 3 is an extremely powerful chapter, Father. I feel like You were speaking quite loudly and directly to me through most of this Scripture. I want to thank You for this, because Your timing is amazing, and I felt like I really needed this particular Scripture today. You remind me to keep my focus on You through all things, even when I begin to falter ever so slightly. Thank You for the perfect timing of a “nudge” to get me back into Your will and Your path for my life, Father. Please continue to push me and give me reminders like what You did in this amazing conversation today, Father, so that in those times I do begin to falter or stray You are there to pick me up and help me to refocus my efforts back to You. Thanks for Your never-ending faithfulness, love, comfort, and counsel, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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