Trouble surrounds me. Where can I find refuge?

Father, these brief words remind us that most of us have a multitude of anxieties which distract us from the comfort of Your presence. When, in the midst of anxiety, we are able to step back and remember the transitional nature of most circumstances, we can find comfort in our eternal relationship with You.

What is it that will make heaven perfect for you?

Father God, You have chosen to make us in Your image. We know, for those that love and obey You, that we are not yet what we will become. Life can seem so long when we are hurting yet You have prepared an eternal place of perfection for us all where we will be neither young nor old and certainly not ill. We look forward to something so perfect that it escapes our ability to fully describe it.

Heaven…we can only imagine how perfect it will be.

Father, You know how we love life and all of its opportunities yet we also look forward to perfection, an eternal life without sin and suffering. We who love You and have committed ourselves to Your service await the moment in time when we finally see all that You have prepared for us. You tell us that eye has not seen nor has mind imagined that which You have prepared for us.

Will there be a “tomorrow” for you? God knows!

Since You are omniscient Father, knowing all things from the Alpha to the Omega, the beginning and the end, You knew who would place their hand in Yours and become heirs to the kingdom. Yet, in Deuteronomy 31:19, You say: …I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

What is it that would make heaven perfect for you?

Father God, You have chosen to make us in Your image. We know, for those that love and obey You, that we are not yet what we will become. Life can seem so long when we are hurting yet You have prepared an eternal place of perfection for us all where we will be neither young nor old and certainly not ill. We look forward to something so perfect that it escapes our ability to fully describe it.

Me, a saint? No way…is that right?

Paul says we are called to be “saints”. Father, You know how frail and impotent we feel, at times. Help us today, to know that when we are full of the Holy Spirit seeking to be as You Jesus, that we are, in that moment, saints.

I have no gifts…thus I have no responsibilities. Right?

Here You teach us that our differences are in our gifts, not our means of knowing You. No gift is better than another and we all contribute, to the best of our ability, in making the Church one body in Christ Jesus. Forgive us if we add rules and conditions that are not named by You.

Impotent, not a word you want directed at you!

Your word teaches that we lack no spiritual gift, yet, we often feel impotent, spiritually. If the gift is present why do we feel that way? You teach us the answer in many places; You never move away from us but we are free to move away from You and when we do, we disconnect ourselves from Your Spirit in us.

Which gift from God is most valuable?

Father, You do not ask us to abandon our personal identity and the gifts You have given us as we seek to serve You. You have said the opposite; the body of believers, the Church, is made up of different parts and it is the breadth of our gifts that contribute to the effectiveness of the whole.