Focus

Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.

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Read

Psalm 35:1-10 (NRSV)

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to help me!
Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”

Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
who devise evil against me.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them on.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
let them fall in it—to their ruin.

Then my soul shall rejoice in the LORD,
exulting in his deliverance.
All my bones shall say,
“O LORD, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

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Reflect

When it comes to searching for hope in difficult times, inspiration can be found in a variety of places. I find myself looking for quotes about hope and take note of them, never knowing when I will need them again. In the latest installment of the Star Wars movies, The Last Jedi, the characters look for signs that everything is going to be okay. Laura Dern’s character, Vice Admiral Haldo, repeats something she heard the venerable Princess Leia say, “Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it, you’ll never make it through the night.”

When have you faced a situation where you could not see a clear way out? Did you feel cut off from God’s love and guidance due to circumstances beyond your control?

This psalm shows us that hope is always there, even when we cannot see evidence of it. In our darkest hour, and when the path forward is not clear, we can trust that God is there with us and can lead us forward into something new.

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Pray

Lord, help us to have hope even when we cannot see a way out. Helps us to know that you are with us, that we are part of something not yet finished, and that things will not always be this way. Amen.

Go with God.