I cannot see the light, my Lord;
I only feel the fear;
And yet I know that You are God
When nothing else is clear.
I have no strength to lift myself,
But Lord, I lift my need.
I spread before You all my fears.
Come take my hand and lead.
When all my joys have turned to pain
And hopes have fallen through,
I raise my eyes and fix my heart:
My only hope is You.
My God, my God, my hope, my joy,
You’re with me in this place!
So in Your presence, in Your peace,
I trust, rejoice, and wait.
Based on Psalm 63
My God,
my Creator,
my Father,
You are all I hunger for.
In a world full of
broken cisterns and
empty promises,
You are the spring of living water.
You are rich, eternal food for all I am, for
heart and
mind and
spirit.
You are
holiness,
rightness,
life,
joy, and
constant, complete sufficiency.
You are surely, eternally making me
more than I ever dreamed I could be.
O God,
my God,
I long for You!
Listen and sing:
Hymn: Psalm 63
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
Holy, holy, holy God,
Pure, and yet You draw us near You.
We were sin and far away,
Yet You gave us hearts to hear You.
Speak Your gracious, loving Word,
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
All Your being, all You are,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Breathes Your life and love within,
Whispers peace, if we will hear it,
Speaks Your lovely, living Word,
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
Day by day Your Spirit sings,
All Your sovereign love resounding:
“Walk complete in all I am!
Live by faith in joy abounding!”
Praise to You, Almighty Word,
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
Father, You desired it.
You have always desired it.
You planned it.
You prepared it.
You promised it.
And by Your Spirit,
You have patiently nurtured
a hunger for it
in my heart.
So now,
finally,
in belated response to all You have done,
I ask for it,
I pray for it,
as Your needy child:
O Father,
I want to live every moment in You
the way Jesus lived every moment in You
when He was here.
Because He was weak,
because He depended completely on You,
He was strong and sufficient in every situation.
My Father, keep me weak and
keep me strong
in You.
He loved You and
served You and
glorified You
single-mindedly,
with His whole heart.
Father, keep me
single-mindedly,
whole-heartedly Yours,
just like Him.
He was
holy and humble,
bold and gentle,
fearless and loving
in You.
O Father,
my Father,
every moment
keep me in You.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: All in You, Breath by Breath
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
A reflection on Revelation 6:1 – 11:14
As He faced crucifixion, Jesus shared with His disciples His joyful, unshakable confidence in the Father (John 13 – 16). Here in Revelation 6:1 – 11:14, He portrays the same confidence through a panoramic tapestry of judgment and salvation.
In Revelation 6 He rolls out the judgments of the first six seals. He climaxes the account with the sobering question, “The great day of the wrath of God and the Lamb has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:17, para.).
He answers that question in chapter 7 by giving us two visions of the Church during those dark days. Both the Church on earth (7:1-8) and the Church in heaven (7:9-17) are absolutely secure under the care and protection of Almighty God.
Revelation 8 – 9 resumes God’s awesome judgments, which are growing ever more intense. He is calling unbelievers to repentance through afflictions that are increasingly severe. But where is the Church in that disintegrating world? Revelation 10:1 – 11:14 gives the answer: the Church is faithfully witnessing to God’s unchanging truth. We are joyfully glorifying Him, even in the darkest times and places.
Thus the broad canvas of Revelation lays out the same truth that Jesus spoke to His disciples as He faced death:
Child of God, in life and death, sickness and sorrow, pain and persecution, you have nothing to fear. Not today. Not ever! Thanks be to God!
Listen and sing:
Hymn: Father, in This Suffering
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
If when you give the best of your service,
Telling the world that the Savior has come,
Be not dismayed when men don’t believe you.
He understands; He’ll say, “Well done!”
Refrain:
O when I come to the end of my journey,
Weary of life, and the battle is won,
Bearing the staff and cross of redemption,
He’ll understand and say, “Well done!”
When you are tried, so weak and discouraged,
Turn to the cross – see the Father’s own Son.
Look up in love and say with Your Savior,
“Not my own will, but Yours be done.”
Trials will pass; they soon will be over.
Pain will be gone and the glory begun.
Then we will see the King in His beauty.
Bowing, we’ll hear, “My child, well done!”
by Lucy E. Campbell and Ken Bible, © 1996 LNWhymns.com.
The righteous will live by faith. (Romans 1:17, NIV)
One of the first benefits of practicing God’s presence is faith. As we nurture a constant, personal relationship with God, faith becomes more alive and active in every area of life. This is particularly true in times of need. As we turn to God immediately with every concern, He provides for us completely: strength in temptation; assurance in uncertainty; wisdom and patience for relationships; forgiveness for our failures. When we know that God is present, we call on Him freely and with confidence, and obtain from Him all that we need.
Listen and sing: Hymn: As I Trust You Recording Printed Music & Lyrics
by Brother Lawrence and Ken Bible
A prayer response to Revelation 9:13-21,
the sixth trumpet
Father, uproot from my heart and life
all the foolishness of unbelief.
You created me.
You shared Yourself
with me and
through me.
You redeemed me.
When I didn’t know You and had
no inclination toward You whatsoever,
You poured out Your life for me.
Yet I still struggle to trust You completely with needs that are
right now,
in the real world.
When the pain is pressing and I feel no relief,
I still doubt.
When the answer doesn’t come when and how I expect,
I waver.
You know it’s true, Father.
You are the only Source and complete reservoir of all
love,
power, and
wisdom.
All that I see, touch, and know
came from You alone.
Yet it’s still not automatic to trust that
You and all Your promises are
absolutely real and
absolutely certain.
I trust material things and not You?
Money and not You?
Myself and not You?
Father, continue to uproot all this nonsense from my
thinking and
doing.
How many times do You have to prove Yourself to me?
I do believe in You.
I do know, from reason and experience, that You are
completely true,
always responsive, and
unfailingly faithful.
Infuse all I am with that simple faith.
You are the most real thing in all my world.
Help me to live like it.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: Lord, Why Am I Anxious?
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
Going home, going home,
I’m just going home.
Quiet-like, slip away –
I’ll be going home.
It’s not far, just close by;
Jesus is the Door;
Work all done, laid aside,
Fear and grief no more.
Friends are there, waiting now.
He is waiting, too.
See His smile! See His hand!
He will lead me through.
Morning Star lights the way;
Restless dream all done;
Shadows gone, break of day,
Life has just begun.
Every tear wiped away,
Pain and sickness gone;
Wide awake there with Him!
Peace goes on and on!
Going home, going home,
I’ll be going home.
See the Light! See the Sun!
I’m just going home.
