Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

How long, O Lord, must I fight for joy?

The sorrows that bind me are so heavy sometimes. Father, I'm tired of fighting- I am becoming so weak. My heart aches for You, for Your will, Your people--

please, my GOD, have mercy on me!

I'm beaten, broken, bruised, bleeding, Lord, for your Name- for Your glory! I have rejoiced in my suffering and in Your never-ending grace... even still, I know there is a purpose:

I know You are exalted in my brokenness.

My Father, my Creator, my Saviour-- rescue me now from my sorrow. Deliver me into the hands of mercy, freedom, joy. There is power in Your hands, blessed Redeemer.

But Lord, if it is Your will that I continue to fight--

My King, I will fight.

I will be broken and used up for as long as I live.

And in that darkness,

I will fight for strength, for peace that only comes from You.

Holy One, remember me.

Worried about Obama's Speech?

A couple tidbits from authors who are not me regarding the speech and authority.

First. John Piper's blog from today:

I am stunned at the outcry against the President of the United States speaking to the youth of this nation about the importance of education.

I am embarrassed by the governor of my home state saying, that the president’s plan to address them is “disruptive . . . uninvited . . . and number three . . . I don’t think he needs to force it upon the nation’s school children.”

This speech seems, for me, to be an answer to a prayer that I have prayed for the president repeatedly.

Father, the condition of our schools and families is so broken that nothing seems to be working, especially for the poor in our urban centers. Help our president to have the courage to use his amazing place of influence to speak into this situation in such a way that boys and girls would take their studies seriously and put school above sport and homework above hiphop and graduation above gangs.

O, Lord, create a culture where it is not cool to fail. Give our President the courage to call all children, especially ones who feel hopeless about academic work, to fight for knowledge the way gangs fight for turf.

And as the President plans his speech, help him to feel as helpless as he really is to meet the greatest needs of the children, so that he turns to Jesus who alone has the answer for the ruin and the wrongs of our cities. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I hope my daughter hears the speech.

Secondly, an excerpt from a devotional book my dad has been reading. It's called Thoughts from the Diary of a Desparate Man by Walter A. Henrichson, written in 1999. The passage for today seemed very appropriate:

"If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offenses to rest." Ecclesiastes 10.4

God does not promise you that the authority He will place over your life will be good. Sometimes he puts you under the authority of rash people who are capricious in their behavior. When that happens, you must avoid two things:
First, don't become the slave of authority. You are solely the slave of God. Observe, inquire, and form opinions, but remember that you belong to Christ.
Second, don't despise your authority or rebel against the "system;" it is God-ordained. "There is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained by God." (Romans 13.1)
Wardlaw said, "The weak reed, by bending in a rough wind receives no hurt, while the sturdy oak is torn up by it's roots." When authority is brash and unreasonable, don't resist it. Keep your mouth closed and God will quiet him down. "The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14.14) Solomon continues by suggesting that a wise person maintains objectivity and observes what is happening. It is difficult to place things in perspective during such times. Wisdom sees things as they are and responds properly rather than reacting.
Maintaining power over your spirit is a higher virtue than proving that you are right. You can only do this by remembering that God placed the authority over you and will not allow him to harm you.



I just encourage you to pray for our President rather than simply curse him. God is still God whether the leader of our nation is Republican, Democratic, Communist, White, Black, Asian, Jewish, Christian, or Athiest. God is still in control.