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Written by Patricia Van Gorder, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Pebbles of Prayer and Ponderings.”

When circumstances press me and suffocate hope and trust, rescue me Lord. Release me from all doubt; increase my faith. Breathe Your Spirit deep into my soul. I long to be still before You, and yet distractions draw me away. My mind dwells on things that don’t matter. I find my heart steeped in sadness for those I know who are suffering. I am anxious trying to meet commitments and deadlines. Be patient with me, Lord. I turn to You, trusting You with loving confidence. And when I do, all that cripples my spirit begins to dissipate. I am victorious over hopelessness and misery. I know you hear me, Lord. You love me and want the best for me. And so I face this day knowing that You are with me. Praise You, Lord!

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. [Colossians 2:12]

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Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American evangelist.

It is significant that our first astronauts, while being trained for their moon flights, were required to give twenty answers to the query, “Who are you?” Take the same test yourself. When you have made your list and run out of things to add, ask yourself if you have truly answered. Do you really know who you are? Scientists agree that our desperate search leads all humans to seek heroes and to imitate others, to “paste bits and pieces of other people on ourselves.” We make love as some actor would. We play golf in the style of Jack Nicklaus. Part of this process is natural, for we learn by imitating others. The tragedy is that the person we assemble is not genuine. “Who am I?” you cry as you roam the world looking for yourself. Consider this: there are three of you. There is the person you think you are. There is the person others think you are. There is the person God knows you are and can be through Christ.

For he knows how we are formed [Psalm 103:14]

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Written by Joyce Meyer, a contemporary author and speaker.

I love that God is ever-present. There is never a time when He is not with us, but we may miss out on the help He is ready to give us by forgetting about Him and trying to do things in our own strength. He wants us to lean and rely on Him. Leaning on God for absolutely everything is not an indication of weakness; it’s actually a sign of wisdom. Jesus says that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). We may do things, but we will struggle and be frustrated because nothing works with ease unless we invite Jesus to be involved in it. What are you trying to do on your own that is frustrating you? Whatever it is, stop. Then tell the Lord you are sorry for leaving Him out of it and ask Him to take the lead in your situation and give you the grace to follow Him. I have tried many things on my own, such as changing myself, changing my husband, and changing my children. I saw their flaws and wanted to correct them, but only God can change a human heart…I have learned to ask God for what I need and lean on Him to bring it to pass. Anytime I forget about this, before long I find myself struggling again trying to do it myself. Let go and let God show His strength through you.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [Psalm 46:1]

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Written by Chuck Swindoll, a contemporary pastor, author, and educator.

We mark our calendars with deadlines—dates that set limits for the completion of objectives and projects. To ignore those deadlines brings consequences…We set deadlines because they help us accomplish the essentials . . . they discipline our use of time . . . they measure the length of our leash on the clothesline of demands. God, however, brings about birthdays . . . not as deadlines but lifelines. He builds them into our calendar once every year to enable us to make an annual appraisal, not only of our length of life but our depth. Not simply to tell us we’re growing older . . . but to help us determine if we are also growing deeper. These lifelines are not like that insurance policy you invested in last year. There’s no automatic promise of annual renewal. Obviously, if God has given you another year to live for Him, He has some things in mind . . . He has some very special plans to pull off through your life. Surely it includes more than existing 1,440 minutes a day! Don’t expect wisdom to come into your life like great chunks of rock on a conveyor belt. It isn’t like that…Wisdom comes privately from God as a by-product of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of scriptural principles to daily circumstances. Wisdom comes, for example, not from seeking after a ministry . . . but more from anticipating the fruit of a disciplined life. Not from trying to do great things for God . . . but more from being faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever see. Stop and reflect. Are you just growing old . . . or are you also growing up? As you “number your days” do you count just years—the grinding measurement of minutes—or can you find marks of wisdom . . . character traits that were not there when you were younger?

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. [Psalm 90:12]

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Written by Denise Posie, a contemporary pastor, teacher, and writer.

Where do we fit in the world? Sometimes our circumstances may cause us to wonder where we belong and why we are here. We may find ourselves in situations where people try to define us based on their own life experiences or what they have observed in us. We can become confused because we do not have a clear sense of purpose or meaning in life…We know that in Christ we are God’s treasured possession today…We were once lost, but we have been called by God himself. Knowing who has chosen us and whom we belong to makes a difference in our lives. It shows up in our worship. As God’s treasured possession, we worship him. We declare his praises in our hearts, in the presence of others, and in public worship. As we mature in Christ, we grow to worship him with all our heart and soul, our innermost being. And this is reflected outwardly as we share our faith with others. As the Lord’s church, we go and make disciples of all nations. God is building his kingdom through the work of his chosen people.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [1 Peter 2:9]

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Written by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) and revised and updated by Alistair Begg, a contemporary pastor. This is an excerpt from the book “Morning and Evening.”

It is always the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus. But Satan’s work is just the opposite; he is constantly trying to make us look at ourselves instead of Christ…the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is everything. Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, although that is the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits. Therefore, do not look so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ as to Christ; do not look to your hope but to Jesus, the source of your hope; do not look to your faith, but to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our deeds, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we are to overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking to Jesus.” Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession be fresh upon your mind. When you waken in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him. Do not let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. [Hebrews 12:1-2]

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Written by Philip Yancey, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Reaching for the Invisible God.”

The journey does not transpire like a treasure hunt, such that if we follow the instructions and look hard enough we will find the treasure. No, the journey itself is the goal. The very quest for God, our determined pursuit, changes us in the ways that matter most.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. [Matthew 5:6]

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Written by C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), a British writer, literary scholar, and lay theologian. This is an excerpt from his book “Miracles.”

There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion (“Man’s Search for God!”) suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?

The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it? [Acts 17:24-29]

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Written by John Ortberg, a contemporary author, speaker, and former pastor of Menlo Park Church.

We tend to keep score by comparing ourselves to others. When it comes to affluence, for instance, we tend to follow what psychologist Leon Festinger calls the “principle of slight upward comparison.” We chronically compare ourselves with those just a little better off, in the hopes of attaining their level of success. This keeps us from gratitude. It also keeps our eyes off people who are under resourced so that we don’t think about our need to share. God gives us the gift of the capacity for gratitude. Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It opens us up to wonder, delight, and humility. It makes our hearts generous. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation. Gratitude is the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all his other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food. Without gratitude, our lives degenerate into envy, dissatisfaction, and complaints, taking what we have for granted and always wanting more.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]

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Written by  Ron Rolheiser, a contemporary priest, when reflecting on  a conversation he had with an old priest.

“If you had your priesthood to live over again, would you do anything differently?” From a man so full of integrity, I fully expected that there would be no regrets. So his answer surprised me. Yes, he did have a regret, a major one, he said: “If I had my priesthood to do over again, I would be easier on people the next time. I wouldn’t be so stingy with God’s mercy, with the sacraments, with forgiveness…I fear that I’ve been too hard on people. They have pain enough without me and the church laying further burdens on them. I should have risked God’s mercy more!”

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. [James 3:17]

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