Image: George Mendoza
Good morning, good God!
so I’ve been thinking a lot
about Job’s faith in you
and how mine measures up
and well, Lord – it doesn’t…
I know you don’t compare my faith to others’
but I figure Job’s story is there to teach me
and it looks like I’ve got plenty to learn
and it looks like I’ve got plenty to learn
from Job’s enduring faith…
So I offer you this morning
just some of the things that get in faith’s way
just some of the things that get in faith’s way
in my life, day to day…
I offer you the disappointment
of when you don’t do what I want you to do
in the way I want you to do it:
of when you don’t do what I want you to do
in the way I want you to do it:
help me remember, Lord,
that you’re not my servant
but that I am yours…
that you’re not my servant
but that I am yours…
I offer you my impatience, Lord,
when you seem to be slow to answer my prayers
and the doubts I have
when you seem not to hear me at all:
when you seem to be slow to answer my prayers
and the doubts I have
when you seem not to hear me at all:
help me trust that you hear my prayers
long before they’re on my lips
and help me see
that you answer my prayers
long before they’re on my lips
and help me see
that you answer my prayers
in ways I miss when I only look
for the answer I want to hear…
for the answer I want to hear…
I offer you my envy, Lord,
when I fret about lacking what others have;
when I fret about lacking what others have;
and I offer you my stubbornness
when I refuse to be happy – except on my own terms:
help me open my eyes to all that I have,
to the blessings you’ve given and I’ve received,
to the peace and joy that are yours to give.
to the blessings you’ve given and I’ve received,
to the peace and joy that are yours to give.
that you want me to find and to have…
I offer you my hopelessness, Lord,
when I feel that my life’s like the wind
and I’ll never be happy again:
when I feel that my life’s like the wind
and I’ll never be happy again:
help me trust that your love is greater than life,
that my heart will be restless ’til I find you,
that my hope and my trust are never in vain…
that my hope and my trust are never in vain…
Help me trust, Lord
that though I cannot find you,
you’re still by my side;
that when I feel abandoned,
I’m held in the palm of your hand;
that when I’m too weak get up,
your strong arm reaches to lift me;
that though I cannot find you,
you’re still by my side;
that when I feel abandoned,
I’m held in the palm of your hand;
that when I’m too weak get up,
your strong arm reaches to lift me;
that when I’m at my most vulnerable,
you guard and shield and protect me…
Draw me out of my self, Lord,
and into your heart of hearts;
and into your heart of hearts;
open my heart to those around me
to share what I have to give…
Help me to welcome you, my Redeemer,
help me to see you with my own eyes,
help me to see you with my own eyes,
help me to meet you, to know and to love you,
my Savior, my Lord and my God…
Amen.
