Praise be to the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts me in all my troubles, so that I can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort I have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into my life, so also through Christ my comfort overflows. If I am distressed, it is for my comfort and salvation; if I am comforted, it will produce in me patient endurance of the same sufferings other Christians have suffered. Grace and peace will come to me from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for my sins to rescue me from the present evil age, according to the will of my God and Father, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. [2Corinthians 1:3-7; Galatians 1:3-5]
Holy Spirit, I am reminded today of how You inspired different men to write down Your word for us to learn, grow, and become wise. You inspired the following things to be written to help my generation understand the greatness and vastness of who God is: “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will in no way acquit the guilty. In gale winds and a storm is His way, and clouds are the dust of His feet. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge, and my savior—from violent men, you save me. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple, he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him. In this, you have done foolishly; therefore, from now on, you shall have wars. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. [Nahum 1:3; Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:9; 2 Samuel 22:2-7; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Nahum1:7; Amos 3:7; Daniel 11:32; Nehemiah 8:10; Joel 2:13&14; Lamentation 3:24,26]
Holy Spirit, I understand that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what God is through the inspired words of the men You had write what we now know as Scripture. Help me to write these sayings upon my heart so I have a clearer view of who God is. Help me as I continue to dig into Your word, that this understanding will grow and quantify into being ingrained within me to the point I can abide in God and He in me. Help me to above all to trust in the Lord with all my heart and to not lean on my understanding; in all my ways I will acknowledge Him, and He will make my paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5&6]
And this is my prayer: let my love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Amen. Philippians 1:9-11