I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Rev. 22:13 (NIV)
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Ps. 94:19 (ESV)
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isa. 26:3 (NLT)
Dear heavenly Father, it’s time for me to shift my focus from the immediacy of a big disappointment to the permanency of who you are. It’s one thing to be lovingly concerned about a matter, and another to angrily obsess about it; one thing to pray without ceasing and another to vex without sleeping; one thing to engage sacrificially and another to be enmeshed unhealthily.
So with palms up, I release my burden to you, Lord. I’m not going to shift into a snarly, “I could care less” attitude; but I will care less, and trust you more. You are God, and I am very much not so. You’ve begun a good work in each of your children, and in every sphere of your creation, and you’re neither AWOL, disinterested, bored, or negligent. You’re going to complete your story to your glory, in your time, on your dime, and in your way. Hallelujah!
You are the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, and everything in between. Hallelujah, many times over! You are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—perfect Trinity, and not looking to make a Trio into a Quartet. You don’t need me; you love me. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. When I fix my thoughts on you—as opposed to fixating on messy situations and messy people, your peace centers, settles, and liberates me. So as this day begins, and continues, I choose liberation over consternation; I choose to believe the gospel rather than try to be my savior or anybody else’s. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ wonderful and merciful name.
