Forever: Grace in the Wilderness: Prayers and Poetry

                                                
                                               Forever

                                                Whole valley,

All that has gone before.

Ashes now.

Protected by His mantle.

Permanent grace.

Never more plundered.

No more battle ground.

Wholeness only future.

Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house,

                        They labor in vain who build it;

                        Unless the Lord guards the city,

                        The watchman stays awake in vain.

                        It is vain for you to rise up early,

                        To retire late,

                        To eat the bread of painful labors;

                        For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Thank you for participating in this devotional reflection through Jeremiah 31. May this next season of Lent bring you grace and joy as you continue to journey with scripture.

                       

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Reflection:Wholeness: Grace in the Wilderness: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     “For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Psalm 127:1 Why do we, do you, find this promise difficult to absorb?

2.     What changes in words or action would help you to live into hope this week, this year?

3.     Where do you want to build a new beginning?

           

4.     Write out a description of what that might look like. Then offer it up as a prayer over the next several days with a listening heart.

5.     Write down what God shows you as wholeness over the next several days.

                       

Wholeness: Grace in the Wilderness: Prayers and Poetry

Jeremiah 31: 40 “And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, or overthrown anymore forever.”

Whole valley,

Can we leave the past, with complete trust in the Lord’s protection, so as to move forwards from our wilderness into new beginnings?

Are we ready and willing to entrust Him with all the pain and the loss and give it into His shelter?

Otherwise we too can become trapped in the wilderness unable to heal—unable to follow His light.

Yet the Lord continues to give us His grace to keep us remembering the hope He provides. And as He has carried us through loss, He will continue to carry us through new beginnings.

Lord, may we build only where You lead us to, and only by Your Spirit’s insight and timing. May Your will be done in all our days in the whole valley of our time.

Your thoughts,