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Written by Francis Dorff, a contemporary priest and former professor of philosophy and theology.

The first thing we have to do
is to notice
that we’ve loaded down this camel
with so much baggage
we’ll never get through the desert alive.
Something has to go.

Then we can begin to dump
the thousand things
we’ve brought along
until even the camel has to go
and we’re walking barefoot
on the desert sand.

There’s no telling what will happen then.
But I’ve heard that someone,
walking in this way,
has seen a burning bush.

Prayer:

Written by Ron Moore, a contemporary pastor and author.

Lord Jesus, I have carried this burden far too long. My present sin is disabling my heart. My past guilt has paralyzed my future obedience. Anxiety over things I can’t control has taken siege over my soul. I am worn out. I cannot continue on my own. Right now, I come to You. I am taking You at Your word. I am seeking to partner with You and have You take my load. I am ready for my burden to be lightened and my heart to find rest. In Your name. Amen.

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Written by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), Scottish evangelist, teacher, and author. This is an excerpt from his book “My Utmost for His Highest.

If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, “Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?” Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. You will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness— being willing to risk your all.

Prayer:

Written by Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975), a Roman Catholic priest who founded Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness by God.

My Lord and my God:

into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future,

what is small and what is great,

what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot,

things temporal and things eternal.

Amen.

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Written by Andrew Whitmore, a contemporary theology professor.

Virtue is a perfection of our character, a human excellence, that we attain by doing what we were made for. Who doesn’t want to be excellent? Virtues are character traits that enable us to act with ease, promptness, creativity, and joy. Virtues are deliberately cultivated habits of choosing what is best for us which ultimately transform us into better people.  When we practice being good and push ourselves to be good more perfectly, the virtues become second nature. Rather than fretting over what to do, we will quickly intuit it and make choices with ease. Rather than appearing boring and predictable, we will be creative and bring true life to our activities and encounters. Rather than begrudgingly carrying out our responsibilities, we will be filled with a sense of fulfillment and contentment. While virtue isn’t a popular topic today, the virtues are always relevant because all of us seek happiness. The human excellence that comes with virtue is that which helps us to live satisfied lives. Whereas sin causes us to act against our purpose, become frustrated, and feel empty, virtue helps us to become what God planned for us to be from eternity. As St. Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.” Virtue is the most direct path to attaining true happiness.

Prayer:

Written by Gerrit Bomhofm a retired pastor and author.

Coordinate our attitude with the clothing you call us to wear, Lord Jesus. Thank you for sharing the virtues that help us to identify with you. In your name, Amen.

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Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “3:16 The Numbers of Hope”

Team Hoyt consists of a father-son squad: Dick and Rick. They race. They race a lot. Sixty-four marathons. Two hundred and six triathlons. Six triathlons at Ironman distance. Two hundred and four 10K runs. Since 1975, they’ve crossed nearly a thousand finish lines. They’ve even crossed the USA. It took them forty-five days to run and pedal 3,735 miles, but they did it. Team Hoyt loves races. But only half of Team Hoyt can run. Dick, the dad, can. But Rick’s legs don’t work, nor does his speech. At his birth in 1962, the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, starving oxygen from his brain, stealing coordination from his body. Doctors gave no hope for his development. Dick and his wife, Judy, disagreed with the prognosis. Rick couldn’t bathe, dress, or feed himself, but he could think. They knew he was bright. So they enrolled him in public school. He graduated. He entered college and graduated again. But Rick wanted to run. At age fifteen, he asked his dad if they could enter a five-mile benefit race. Dick was not a runner, but he was a father, so he loaded his son in a three-wheeled wheelchair, and off they went. They haven’t stopped since. Young Rick Hoyt relies on his dad to do it all: lift him, push him, pedal him, and tow him. Other than a willing heart, he makes no contribution to the effort. Rick depends entirely on the strength of his dad.God wants you to do the same.

The phrase “believes in Him” doesn’t digest well in our day of self-sufficient spiritual food. “Believe in yourself” is the common menu selection of our day. Try harder. Work longer. Dig deeper. Self-reliance is our goal. And tolerance is our virtue. “In Him” smacks of exclusion. Don’t all paths lead to Heaven? Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and humanism? Salvation comes in many forms, right? Christ walks upriver on this topic. Salvation is found, not in self or in them, but in Him. We bring to the spiritual race what Rick Hoyt brings to the physical one. Our spiritual legs have no strength. Our morality has no muscle. Our good deeds cannot carry us across the finish line, but Christ can. Paul assures salvation to the most unlikely folks: not to the worker, but to the trust-er; not to the able-bodied, but to the unable; not to the affluent saint, but to the bankrupt and unemployable — the child who will trust with Rick Hoyt reliance. We bring what Rick brings. And God does what Dick does. He takes start-to-finish-line responsibility for His children… When Dick and Rick Hoyt cross finish lines, both receive finisher medals. Post-race listings include both names. The dad does the work, but the son shares in the victory. Why? Because he believes. And because he believes, both celebrate the finish. May you and your Father do the same.

Prayer:

Written by Rachel Wojo, a contemporary author and speaker.

Dear God, What an incredible God you are!
When I look at the beauty of your creation,
I’m in awe of your mighty and majestic ways.
When I see the work of your hand,
I’m overwhelmed by your love for me.
Lord, I believe that you saved my soul;
Help me trust that you have made me whole.
Lord, I believe that you hear my prayers;
Help me trust that your answer is best.
Lord, I trust that you created the mountains;
Help me trust that you can move them.
Please forgive my failures and
Increase my ability to give you everything.
Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.

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Written by Jill Weber, a contemporary spiritual director and the director of Houses of Prayer.

The path to the promised land seemed straightforward, but it cut right through enemy territory. God knew better than they did what they were up against and the state of their hearts as well as the strength of their arms. He decided to take them the long way around (Exodus 13:17-18). Our contemporary culture values expediency, but the story in the wilderness indicates that shorter is not necessarily better.  In my life’s journey, as I move toward my goals, does it seem as if God is taking me the long way round? How do I feel about that?  God was up to something far beyond just getting the children of Israel from point A to point B. On their pilgrimage through the wilderness, He wanted to shape them on the way.  Author Daniel McGregor writes: “It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Israelites’ wilderness experience to biblical history. The wilderness wandering was the formative experience for the Israelites, repeatedly referenced throughout Scripture. From the time in the wilderness came the Law, a way of worship, and a culture distinct from their neighbors.”

Prayer:

This prayer was written by the author of today’s meditation.

 God, when my road takes an unexpected turn, I trust Your good leadership. You know my heart. You know the path before me. Ultimately, You are my way, Jesus. I trust you. Amen.

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Written by Amanda Jenkins, Kristen Hendricks, and Dallas Jenkins, contemporary writers. This is an excerpt from “The Chosen: 40 Days With Jesus” devotional.

Every follower of Jesus has a not-so-great “before”” A rash, brash fisherman. A pious, fancy-pants religious leader. A thieving, indifferent-to-suffering tax collector. A demon-possessed woman so insignificant that her “before” isn’t even recorded and we’re left to surmise what it might have been.  And yet God call people in the “before”—when they aren’t even aware they’re simply broken versions of themselves. God calls people before He begins His transformative work of redemption because He sees past the “before” to what He purposed and planned. He sees past the “before” to those He loves enough to call His own.  Take Israel, for example. Isaiah prophesied over God’s chosen nation—“Fear not, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 43:1)—not during a time of obedience but during a rebellion. A time filled with idol worship and wandering hearts and intense callousness to sin, not to mention all the painful consequences they were experiencing as a result of their choices. It was spoken long before their repentance. “I have called you by name, you are mine,” he continues in verse 1. When Isaiah spoke these words, Israel was rebelling against all God had done for them and all He wanted to do.  But God didn’t turn away—He showed mercy. He spoke His love over His chosen people, claiming them as His own before they agreed to be. He entered into the “before.”

God speaks what is true over us too; His plan of redemption is on the march because He has called us by name. Our choices don’t derail His. What we see when we look in the mirror doesn’t determine what He sees or who we’ll be by His hand, and so our brokenness doesn’t alter His plans. Nor do circumstances, other people, or our own choices determine our value; our value is assigned by the one we belong to. So we don’t have to fear. Fear not, you’re not who you’re going to be. Fear not, God can redeem your choices and use them for good. Fear not, God can heal your heart, your body, your relationships. Fear not, you were made for more than what you’ve experienced so far. Fear not, this is only the beginning.

Every follower of Jesus has a not-so-great “before.” But every follower of Jesus also has an “after.” The rowdy fisherman became the bedrock preacher of the early church, healer of the sick and lame, and fearless unto death. The leader of impersonal religion became personal friends with Jesus, finally understanding and being changed by Scripture he’d devoted his life to studying. The taxman traitor became a member of the elite twelve and author of the first Gospel of the New Testament. And the woman? The woman too insignificant to even have her “before” recorded was so precious to Jesus that she became the first person He appeared to after He rose from the dead, the first one to hear His tender voice, and the first witness of the culmination of all He claimed to be and do – and she got to tell the boys.

Prayer:

This prayer was written by Macarius the Great (300-391), an Egyptian monk and hermit.

My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he has blessed me lavishly and makes me ready to respond.  He shatters my little world and lets me be poor before him. He takes from me all my plans and gives me more than I can hope for or ask. He gives me opportunities and the ability to become free and to burst through my boundaries. He gives the strength to be doing, to build on him alone greater One in my life.  It is in my being servant that it becomes possible. For God’s kingdom to break through here and now.

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Written by Lisa Ham, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from her book Devotions from the Mountains.”

Do you ever feel like your day is just too hectic to squeeze in time alone with God? We all have days like that, don’t we? It turns out that even Jesus occasionally had to work at it to find time alone with His Father. For instance, Matthew 14 opens with the account of why John the Baptist was beheaded. Then, Jesus fed the five thousand, a later He walked on water. Those are big events, and it’s easy to miss what Jesus did in between. He went looking for solitude in order to pray—twice. The first time in verse 13, when He had just heard about John’s death. However, the crowds heard that He had taken a boat to a solitary place, and they followed Him on foot. Though most of us don’t have crowds following us around, we do run into obstacles to our time alone with God. Texts, e-mails, and phone calls can reach us anywhere. Kids who usually can’t be pried away from a screen suddenly need us right now. Our own minds light up like pinball machines, pinging from one concern to the next. How we need the quiet!

So how did Jesus respond when he saw the crowd waiting of Him on shore? “He had compassion on them and healed their sick” and then he fed them all. He might have been tired and disappointed; He may have been aching with grief for John the Baptist. But He was tenderhearted toward the people who needed Him. Then He tried again. He sent the disciples ahead on the boat, and He dismissed the crowd. Then, finally, He had time by Himself on the mountainside to pray. If Jesus, who is one with the Father sought time alone with the Father, how much more do we need it! We may have to try and try again. That’s okay. God is still there, waiting to welcome us.

Prayer:

This prayer was written by the author of today’s meditation.

Dear Lord, thank You for all that we learn about You from Scripture. Please help me to respond with compassion when I am needed at inconvenient times. Help me to keep trying so that I find my time with You. Amen.

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Written by John Eldredge, a contemporary American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. This is an excerpt from his book “Resilient.”

Giving up has always been a struggle for frail humanity. And the enemy is wickedly skilled at pouncing on our vulnerabilities. I can tell you with confidence that whatever the enemy brings against you, he will always bring with it a feeling of ‘I don’t want to fight this.’ This feeling is called ‘ennui’, it is a weariness of spirit, a malaise, that sense of ‘I just don’t want to fight anymore.’ And this feeling is not your true heart. That weariness you’re feeling, that ‘not now; maybe later’, that sense of being overwhelmed, that ‘Why bother? Who cares?’ – is the enemy, not you. When you know that, you’re much better prepared to fight against it. You can more clearly choose to resist. Reject this feeling and choose the strength of God that prevails. Resilience is something that is bestowed and imparted by God into our frail humanity. We want to ask for it.

Prayer:

The author of this prayer is unknown.

 Lord, your Word promises that you “will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”  Your Truth nourishes the root of our hearts, helping us bloom in the desert.  Your love revitalizes us when circumstances threaten to dehydrate our faith.

When we are surrounded by the dryness of uncertainties, fears, or change, saturate us with Your presence, pour Your peace into every fiber of our being until we radiate with resilience. No matter where you have us planted, help us bloom for Your glory. We love you. We need you. We praise you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

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Written by George MacDonald (1824-1905), a Scottish author, poet, and Christian Congregational minister. This is an excerpt from his book “There and Back.”

“Who invented music? Someone must have made the delight of it possible! With his own share in its joy he had had nothing to do! Was Chance its grand inventor, its great ingenieur? Why or how should Chance love loveliness that was not, and make it be, that others might love it? Could it be a deaf God, or a being that did not care and would not listen, that invented music? No; music did not come of itself, neither could the source of it be devoid of music!”

Prayer:

Written by Babette Chatman, a pastor at Augsburg University.

God of all creation, we thank you today for your gift of musicians. We know that every good and perfect gift comes from you. We thank you for the custodians of the music of the divine service. We thank you string instruments, wind instruments, percussion and singers. Lord God we ask that you bless all who guide through the ministry of music worship. May musicians facilitate music that brings you glory. Music that transcends barriers that divide race, class, gender, denominationalism, ethnicity or geography. May their gifts create the atmosphere that lifts you up…May they find joy in their work and may it fill them with peace, comfort and purpose. Fill musicians with your light and love as they generously share with the world. Lord let all creation sing your praise and the host make music in your presence. Bless musicians as only you can. In your name we pray. Amen.

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Written by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), a British writer and theologian.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Abolition of Man.”

It is the magician’s bargain: give up our souls, get power in return. But once our souls, that is ourselves have been given up, the power thus conferred will not belong to us. We shall in fact be slaves of that to which we have given our souls.

Prayer:

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary teacher, writer, speaker, and President of Reflection Ministries.

Heavenly Father, You have chosen me to obey Jesus Christ by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. In Christ, You have granted me everything I need to manifest the fullness of life that is empowered by Your indwelling Spirit. I know that it is impossible to live out the spiritual life in my own resources and power and that only as I abide in Jesus and walk by the power of the Holy Spirit is it possible for me to display a life of godliness and righteousness. As I live by the Spirit, may I bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. May I be strengthened with power through Your indwelling Spirit so that I can live a life that will be pleasing to You and edifying to others. May the love of Christ overflow in my thoughts, words and deeds this very day.

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