Lord, we worry so much and we waste so much time and energy doing so. It would be much easier just to trust Your word. How much did we worry ten years ago about the things that have happened since then? How much did we worry last year about what would happen this year? We fretted. We were anxious. We were vexed. We lost sleep. Yet, for what? We worried for nothing! Looking back on it, we are embarrassed. We are ashamed. We are living today the plan you had decreed for us yesterday. We do not live in a sea of change and a world of chance without meaning. You ordain all things, whatsoever comes to pass. Our tomorrows have already been planned. The day of sickness. The day of sadness. The day of joy. Even the day of death. You have already decreed them all. Why then do we worry? Because we are yet weak in the flesh. We may be comforted here today, but Lord, as soon as we leave this place, we will do the same thing again. We will repeat our sins over and over. We are like the dog who returns to its vomit. We are like the pig who returns to the pigpen. Lord, deliver us from ourselves. We are indeed our own worst enemy. Comfort us with Your Holy Spirit and calm our hearts and souls.

When we are young, we wanted to be older. When we are older, we want to be young again. When we are at home, we want to leave home. When we are away from home, we want to go home. When we are poor, we want to be rich. When we are rich, we worry about becoming poor. Lord, we are a restless people. We are like the Israelites in the wilderness and we know full well how to complain and grumble. Lord, deliver us from ourselves, for indeed we are our own worst enemy.

Lord, comfort us daily that we are indeed the children of God. If we were to die today, we would be in the presence of the living God. We would see the face of Jesus and we would rejoice beyond all that we can even imagine. Lord, let not the knowledge of our sins and our weaknesses take away the joy of our salvation. When we see ourselves, we see hopelessness. When we see Jesus, we see hope. We are confident in Him. Lord, put away any bad thoughts that we might have. You are not deceiving us. You are not tricking us. You are not playing games with us. We are not mere pawns on a chessboard that can be thrown away at will. We are safely in Your hands. We have in heaven laid up for us an inheritance that will not fade away, and not only for us, but for all who love Your appearing.

Lord, help us not to judge Your faithfulness merely on the way we feel. Help us not to judge Your faithfulness merely on the troubles we face this day. Lord, it is to Thy word we must go. Thy word is truth. Se we read in Thy word that You will never leave us nor forsake us. All things work together for good for those who love the Lord, and are called according to Thy purpose. Even in sickness there is a purpose. Even in death there is a purpose. Even in tragedy, there is a purpose. Lord, if there were no purpose, then for what purpose do we live? If You are not there, then why are we here? If our suffering has no purpose, then why would we endure suffering? Lord, we depend so much on Thy word. Men may deny it. Men may hate it. Yet, we know, it is the truth of God. The flower fades and the grass withers, but the word of God shall endure forever.