Heavenly Father, I praise You for allowing me to give You my burdens, my anxiety, and my pain. I praise You for being in my life, knowing me completely, and giving me purpose. Help me today to truly take command of my day with Your Holy Spirit as my guide to shake all evil from it.
Holy Spirit, Your word says You lead me beside still waters. You restore my soul; You lead me in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Even though I have traveled through the valley of the shadow of death a few times in my life, I am learning to fear no evil, because You are with me, and what can man do to me that is worse than if I miss eternity with You? I realize since the death and resurrection of Christ, I am one of Your living temples with the Holy Spirit guiding and inspiring my thoughts, my path, and the steps I take. I also know that I have to learn to die to my selfishness and become a living sacrifice daily for Your plans and will. You are my mighty fortress that I can run to when life batters me with storms and attacks. I know from the testimonies of the Bible, You do not take me out of or
remove the trouble of life, but instead walk with and shield me from giving in to defeat. I need to allow for Your glory to rule no matter what happens to me. I believe in my heart and I speak with my mouth that You are my Savior and my God. I put my trust in You even when life is more complicated than I can understand. My faith has endured the thoughts of suicide, giving up, anger, frustration, losing my son in the darkest year of my life, and how that one incident has changed my whole family and put me on a different path and journey than I ever expected. I do not fear death for me. I do fear the death or loss of my wife, children, grandchildren, and extended family, but I also know there is nothing I can do to stop the eventuality of it. As far as I know, only Enoch and Elijah have left this world without dying so far.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers
throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. 1Peter 5:6-11