Day 2: Until the Lord looks down
My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees (Lamentations 3:49-50).
Father God, You are good to those whose hope are in You, to the one who seeks You (Lamentations 3:25). As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalm 103:13).
Your unfailing compassions, Your great love, and Your great faithfulness sustain us daily so we are not consumed—morning by morning You renew Your tender mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Sovereign God, in Your great design, You have equipped us with a range of emotions for expression, for relief, and release. The Lord Jesus Himself, who became one of us, wept at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus (John 11:35). And when the weight of His impending trial pressed upon Him, He gave honest voice to His distress, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death" (Matthew 26:38 - NKJV).
In our own "seasons of distress and grief," You understand our sorrows. When we are overwhelmed with sorrow (NIV), and crushed with grief (NLT)—when doubt and fear tempt us to think, “my cause is disregarded by my God” (Isaiah 40:27), You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; You consider their grief and take it in hand (Psalm 10:14).
Today, Lord, we release to You all the sins and griefs we carry. We lift to You those around us in the middle of struggle, striving, challenge, contention. You alone know the secret paths of grief, of doubt, of fear, of anxiety, of discouragement.
You alone know the dark, slimy pits of hopelessness and despair—when like the psalmist the cry of our soul comes before You: From the ends of the earth I call to You, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2).
Father, the Lord Jesus has made You known to us (John 17:26). And the psalmist tells us, Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You (Psalm 9:10).
Help us to seek You—besides still waters, or in the winds of turbulence. Help us to build like the wise, on the Solid Rock of faith—the firm foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). Teach us to look to You. Teach us to know You—to trust You. Surround us with the calming reminder of who You are: "Do you not know, have you not heard? (Isaiah 40:21).
In Your hands are the measure and the limits of our circumstances. Give us the assurance—even in the midst of pain, grief, struggle, difficulty, and uncertainty— that Your way is perfect. And even when our eyes flow unceasingly, without relief, give us the strength to hold on until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees (Lamentations 3:49-50). Help us to trust You, and know with certainty that Your timing is right.
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