Lord Prepare Me

Lord prepare me.  For what, you may be thinking?  Consider this season when we remember Judas' betrayal of Jesus, the unjust trials that followed, Peter's denials, the 39 stripes, the cross and His crucifixion, His preparation for burial, and the resurrection.  What trial, what temptation, what difficulty, what are you now experiencing that you need to be delivered from?  Is there an area in your life that for all practical purposes is dying, if not already dead?  Have you been unjustly accused?  Is there one that you have poured your best into that is now denying or turning away from all that you have given?  Are you transitioning from a place of comfort to a place of the unknown?  Is there a dead relationship that needs to be resurrected? 

Are you ready to say and see what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that "the old has gone, the new has come" (see 2 Corinthians 5:17)? Is it time for your prayer to be Lord prepare me for the new that is coming?  At times when either I am entangled in a bunch of deadly emotions, have spoken foolishly or acted/reacted really stupidly, I've found myself praying repeatedly words written long ago by then King David.  They have become an integral part of my follow-up to Lord prepare me.  "Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

May Jesus' resurrection remind us all that the darkest hour is just before the dawning of a new day.  Because He lives, we can live an abundant life.  Because He forgave from the cross those who crucified Him, we have been enabled to forgive no matter what the situation or circumstance.  Lord prepare me for my new day and my fresh start, for an abundant life, to forgive others so that you can forgive me.  Lord prepare me to love others just as you have loved me.

Lord Have Mercy

As a child growing up in the home of my grandmother, I remember three words that she spoke when she heard of catastrophic events, untimely death, storm damage, sickness and disease, hospitalizations, wrecks and other accidents, arrests and jail or prison time, marital problems, church fights and splits, and the like.  Sometimes with her head down, body bowed over, her left hand rubbing her forehead, sometimes needing to sit down if the news came while she was standing, wiping her hands furiously on the apron she always wore at home, she muttered three words -- Lord have mercy.  I didn't realize she was praying. I just thought she was saying something.  I came to realize that she was at a loss for words, so she almost always said the same ones -- Lord have mercy.

I have now learned that the three words are an often prayed prayer in the Bible. David, the man after God's own heart (see Acts 13:22), prayed these three words probably more than any other person in the Bible. David wrote what we know as Psalm 51 when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed. The opening statement in that psalm is "have mercy on me, O God." Throughout the Psalms, David repeatedly speaks the three words -- Lord have mercy.

Oh, that we might be more like my grandmother and David.  When the issues of life are all around us and seem so overwhelming … when the news reports yell at us the atrocities that abound, not only in our neighborhoods but around the world … when as a nation, we defiantly shake our fists at God's laws and create our own to murder unborn babies and to affirm same sex marriage … when we neither know what to do or what to say or how to pray, these three words work all the time, every time -- Lord have mercy.

 

Expect the Unexpected (2)

Recently, I coordinated blood drive number 11 at church.  This one was on the heels of two blood drives a year for the previous five years.  In partnership with the American Red Cross, they would send staff for both an inside collection site and their mobile unit.  The drive day arrived -- beautiful, bright, sunshiny; started with more pre-sign-ups than ever before; tee shirts had been delivered early; Red Cross supply truck and workers arrived on schedule; volunteer workers arrived; everything was falling into place.  I expected to exceed our goal.

 One thing was missing, the mobile unit which was the second collection site.  This was unexpected to say the least ... a first time occurrence ... mechanical difficulties ... out of the ordinary ... unplanned for ... prayers for the unit to arrive went unanswered.  Why?  What to do?  Why this unexpected turn of events?  How to make the best of the situation?  Had I been expecting the plans to succeed my way or God's way? Would I trust God's ways when they were different from mine? Was my definition of success limiting or disregarding the Master Planner?  Did I really expect the unexpected?

 What happened?  Romans 8:28 happened.  A Red Cross staff team worked steadily and diligently to accommodate as many donors as possible.  While some prospects left, many waited patiently to become donors as committed.  Though we missed goal, the collected units were no less than had been previously collected on a couple occasions using two collection sites. 

Expect the unexpected.  Be ever mindful that God's promises never change.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  (See Romans 8:28.)