COFFEE ON THE DOCK

The pain of great loss is bitter, but even more so when accompanied by betrayal. Whether in lofty halls of power or the steaming jungles of a rain forest, every human heart is tested by these flaming arrows. It is impossible to construct a barrier against the probability of a broken heart. Though avoidance is impossible, there is a pathway out of agony. While others are distanced by our deep sorrows, “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” O Lord Our Helper, You comfort our hearts and drive our grief far away. You reassure us in our pain, wipe away our tears and turn our sorrows into dancing. 

There is an unexplainable freedom in the painful discovery that nothing in this life is permanent. The human soul was created to live in eternal covenant and longs for things that last; so much so that we stubbornly ignore the temporariness of this world. We pretend that earthly things are more transcendent than they can possibly be, then feel shocked when they are not. Eternal Father, You alone are boundless. You have set eternity in our hearts that we may rightly measure this life. Help me hold temporary things of this world loosely while gripping eternal things with all my might. 

We live in the “Information Age”, but information alone is useless. In fact, without good judgment, knowledge can be very destructive. Understanding, on the other hand, enables me to know what to do with what I know. Wisdom, the kind that God alone endows, brings knowledge and understanding into proper alignment with His perfect application, positioning me for His best. Oh Lord, from Whom all true knowledge, understanding and wisdom flow, grant me daily enlightenment and grace for the right response to that which You reveal. Deliver me from information overload and lead me into truth and light. 

A cemetery is not only a place of honoring those who have passed; sadly, it is also a depository of unspent potential. The apostle Paul predetermined he would not leave anything unfinished when he departed this life. I was with my spiritual father, Costa Deir just before his earthly race was completed. Though dying, he was still writing, preaching, counseling, praying and mentoring, all from his in-home hospital bed. I was enlightened in his death as I had been in his life. Eternal Father, help me finish strong, leaving no potential unspent. Lord, may advancing Your Kingdom consume my last reserves.

Ten lepers were cured, but only one returned to express gratitude. King David found it necessary to remind himself of his many blessings. Our tendency to focus on what we lack in life robs us of enduring gratefulness. Giving thanks should not be corralled into moments when we feel obliged; gratefulness and praise must become our lifestyle, thankfulness and praise a forethought, not an afterthought. God of all Blessings, Sustainer of All Life, Giver of all Grace, I thank You and praise you for Your Unceasing Goodness.  You are my Light and Salvation. To You be glory forever and ever, amen. 

As a twelve-year-old Boy Scout, I was almost defeated by distance. Our troop was taken on a 20-mile hike in the heat of summer. We learned that we could go much farther than we believed possible. I have since learned “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength”. All but one thing; I cannot out distance His love. After repeatedly passing through impossible circumstances as “more than a conqueror” I am utterly overcome by His Love. Loving Father, I am not a wandering exile, You call me by name, You claim me as Your own. I am happily defeated by Your immeasurable love. 

Every season of life brings its own joys and disappointments; however, letdowns seem to accrue more easily than gladness. The Psalms reveal King David as a man of profound faith, yet he found it necessary to remind himself of God’s blessings and to command his own soul to praise the LORD. Even a quick inventory of things for which I can be thankful ignites my heart, releasing joy and praise in every circumstance. I must lift my eyes from the temporal pains and look to the Giver of Life. O Lord my God, my heart is jubilant as I contemplate Your Goodness, which bestows incorruptible gladness.