Plans for Me

Abba, without choosing the particular verse but only saying to myself that I would choose the first Old Testament verse in my Bible Memory list, I "chose" Jeremiah 29:11~~

"For I know the plan I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

May I interpret Your communication with me here? The administrative leave has turned into a termination, and my head is swimming with partial pieces of information and memories.  I *will* trust that You are leading me in this path and, of course, that You knew the path that was coming up before it happened.

More and more I am seeing how much injustice and untruth is in the world, both currently and historically.  I am seeing that it may take years to bring justice, and that sometimes the justice does not come for the perpetrators until well after they die. I confess that I had a subtle belief that people somehow, however slightly, deserved the injustice being committed against them.  Now I am in this situation and I may be found guilty by lies.

Abba, please inspire me to draft a compelling--and true!--account of the incident in question.  Whether or not it will be accepted into my personnel record, it may help me to put it in writing.  Help me to be calm, thoughtful, organized, and respectful.  Please bless, with exceptional efficiency, my meeting with the union representative this afternoon.  I want to honor You in this very weird situation.  Please grant this for both of us.  

In Jesus's name~~Amen.

Distractible

 

I am pretty distractible these days.  I am trying to tick off my to-do list items and I keep getting off track.  I also have trouble focusing on praying, Father.  

I don't even know where to begin.  Is that one of the symptoms of distractibility?  I am waiting for this YouTube to finish so that I can knock off my Duolingo, where I am pretty far behind.  

(And I moved up 14 places!  Amazing what focus can do.  And a 2x boost.)

I admit to preoccupation with the political climate.  I have a great fear and disappointment that reason and truth do NOT penetrate the blindness of those people who are believing lies.  Why is that, Abba?  Can You help me to understand what is going on?

A few Bible verses are coming to mind...

• 2 Corinthians 4:4
• John 12:40
• 1 John 2:11

(For some reason, being at the car dealership is blocking my access to certain websites, including those where I could retrieve these verses.)

But I will finish for now, Father, since my car will be ready soonish.  Thanks for tolerating my distractibility.  You know I love You!  (Shades of Peter the apostle.)

Updated 02/23/24 with the Bible verses!

• 2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
• John 12:40 (from Isaiah 6:10) "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them."
• 1 John 2:11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.  They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Prayer Times

 Abba, the world is in shambles, and You seem to be hiding.  I don't blame You for that.  A lot of people, including some who claim to be Your people, don't appear to be looking for You anyway.  "We have made You too small in our eyes," and we have also made You in our image--selfish, capricious, harshly judgmental.  

So many prayer concerns:

1) The oldest daughter and her boyfriend

2) That boyfriend's immigration issues and...

3) ...their (possible?) effect on his relationship with her.

4) Your relationship with both daughters.  They are so *done* with Christian hypocrisy.

5) Both of our elderly mothers.

6) The younger nieces and nephews and their various struggles (such as cirrhosis of the liver....).

I get overwhelmed with more than six things at a time.  These are more than enough for today, although there are SO many more.  Don't hide, Abba.  Show up.  Show Yourself.  Do a miracle or two not just for us but for Your glory and Your kingdom, please.

In Jesus's name and in the Spirit of God~~Amen.

Heartbroken and Disheartened

 

God!  My heart is broken, at the very least bruised, because of the disillusionment of my elder daughter with her "Christian" employer and the current evangelical Christian world.  My younger daughter long ago became disillusioned with conservative evangelicalism.  That disillusionment alone does not hurt me.  They both assure me that they still love Jesus.  Rather, it is the decision of my eldest to live with her boyfriend.  Without going into all the details that You already know, the arrangement may or may not include sex.  That is between You and them.  It is the raw, blunt pain in her announcement that she will not work for a faith-based institution ever again, and her cooling attachment to the church in her city, seemingly because of hurtful attitudes and maybe comments.

I feel like we--You and I--are fighting a losing battle, Lord.  I know You win.  I am counting on that.  But I feel bad.  What has Your church done to Your reputation?  

Last week's sermon about confrontations with the Jewish (read: religious) leaders hit a weak spot.  So many believers, at times including my own DH, have unquestioningly accepted the proclamations of the Christian leaders of our times.  Woe to those leaders who have mislead, or lead astray, Your people!

Would You consider an intervention of a miraculous sort, Abba?  I know that You will not interfere with a person's free will, and I also know that You soften and harden hearts.  Please soften hearts in my family.  These are awful times when injustice, untruth, and frank evil are rampant.  But You win.

Amen!

Learning from Leviticus

 Good afternoon, Abba.  I have to grab a few minutes to write/pray here while DH is out grocery shopping.  I have so much on my mind; yet I want to have only YOU on my mind.  "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1-2, a little mashed up.

One thing, a big thing, that I want to talk to You about is our oldest daughter and her man.  Abba, how often do you see me, or us, making unwise decisions and choosing a path that is not Your way?  I have laid out my case before her, and now I ask--maybe even beg--You to soften their hearts and provide a path for them to save face and, honestly, money.  Following You can be hard, and You don't promise otherwise.  You also command those of us who have the means to help (James 2) to help--even sacrificially.  Please bring it all together to glorify Yourself, and give all of us, every individual among us, the exact thing we need to continue to "trust and obey" You.

Back to Leviticus: Ah, the exquisite detail.  It all matters, perhaps in some ways we don't yet understand.  I love remaining faithful to being in the Word every day, and I am thankful for the person who developed this program to help and explain a lot of things.  

To You be all the glory!  These times are not terribly glorifying to You, but I am determined to be.  I can't do it on my own, though.  Holy Spirit, come and indwell me.  Make me Your hand puppet.  IJN (In Jesus's Name)~~Amen.

More Complaining Than Praising?

 What struck me today in my Bible reading and devotional were two things:

1.  How much You, LORD, want our *holy* consecration to You.
2.  How much we, Your people, complain more than we praise You (thanks to TLC for this point--a good one).

DH is on his way home and I must go quickly.  I praise You!

Manna and Still Complaining

 

Like my brothers and sisters during the time of Exodus and manna, I am "complaining" about Your generous provision, Abba. My complaint is pretty silent; outwardly, I am thankful. Inwardly, I am growing discouraged and impatient. Please forgive me. I will trust that You will bring something good out of this ... well, I want to call it a debacle!  

Meanwhile, Angie and liver failure. Amy and her financial stress and distress. Chris and his immigration issue. Julie and her dissatisfaction with her current job, and leading toward a new and better one. Enough to ask You about!  

Be glorified, Abba. You deserve it so much, and You deserve so much more than You get.