Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Ps. 62:5-8 (NIV)
Dear heavenly Father, nothing compares with the peace we have, born from the certainty of your love for us. No more wrestling with “he loves me, he loves me not”—for we now live in your permanent favor and unwavering delight. You have set your affection on us, for you have made Christ’s righteousness ours. Jesus is our Sabbath Rest, our Year of Jubilee—our mighty rock and loving refuge.
Our honor and hope depend on you, Father—not on what people think or say about us; not based on our productivity or usefulness; and not based on our messy stories becoming less messy. This is true because the gospel is true—even when what we believe contradicts what we feel.
SO, Father, here is our prayer and cry. Hear it, as we pour out our hearts to you today. Be our refuge, rest, and hope. We want our correct theology to be our transforming doxology—our gospel-informed minds to be grace-enflamed hearts. We want to be freer, much freer. We want to live out of the riches our rest, and less from the restlessness of our stress.
Father, we want to shake off slights and disappointments quicker. We want to be more comfortable with the unresolved, unhealed parts of our stories. We want longer fuses and shorter memories, when it comes to the failures of others. We want your mercy to tame our traumas and your love to undo our unbelief. We want you to bring your grace to the frayed parts of our lives. We want all of these things, Father, and we want them all for your glory. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ mercy-full and trust-worthy name.
