nothing

Lord

i am nothing

apart from you

i can do nothing

except by your

grace and mercy

and i long to be

filled with nothing

but your unfailing love

be everything

in my nothingness

attunement

O God

may my heart

be your heart

may my eyes

be your eyes

may my soul

be one with you

may my hope

be in you alone

may it always be

all of you and

none of me

cease striving

cease striving 

and know

that I am God

that means

stop building

stop performing

stop proving

stop earning

it means

stop jockeying

stop climbing

stop competing

stop comparing

just stop

be still

and know me

I will do the rest

overflowing with hope

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

It’s impossible to separate the presence of true and lasting hope in our lives—and, thus, joy and peace—from the concept and reality of resurrection.  Hope that is not eternal is no hope at all; it is just wishful thinking.  Hope involves something much more substantial.  Hope involves a surety and a joyful expectation of the good that is to come. 

Maybe that’s why hope is not something we typically think about very often.  Our minds are too occupied with temporary things to dwell on eternal ones.  We love to think about our hearts overflowing with life or love or joy, things that are more tangible, but what about overflowing with hope?  What does that even look like? 

Overflowing with hope means that our lives are not determined by our current circumstances, but by a loving and good God who is always working for our eternal benefit and always bringing life out of the jaws of death.  In God’s economy, life always wins—resurrection always follows crucifixion.  A life overflowing with hope sees that; it is able to see beyond the immediate to the everlasting.

O, God of hope, may my life and my spirit be filled to overflowing with all the joy and the peace and the love and the hope that life with you has to offer.  May I never be tempted to put my hope in the things of this world—my own strengths, abilities, or circumstances—but to put my hope ever and always only in you.

disappear

disappear into Me

and you will finally find

the intimacy and the union

you so deeply long for

bask

we can beg for mercy

but we must bask in grace

it cannot be earned

it cannot be achieved

it can only be received

grace is lavished upon us

all that’s required is openness

willingness to bathe ourselves

in his goodness and his love

fly

come to the edge of the nest

hear the invitation of God

receive his gentle push

leave the safety and security

of what you have known

and take the leap into

the vast unknown

soar into the heavens

on the winds of his breath

take flight and become

all you were created to be