“You have shortened the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?” (Psalm 89:45-46)

At times it feels as though the Lord is severely punishing you. It is not punishment. Chastening is not punishment. The Lord loves you and His rod and staff form you into the image of Christ. Do not listen to those who say, “What have you done.” That is wickedness. Instead, ask the Lord, “What are You doing?” The Lord loves you more than you are able to fathom.

Lord, help me to understand that the breadth and depth of Your love is so great that nothing in all of creation is able to separate me from You. Guide me through every circumstance to know that in You is the hope and glory of all ages. In You alone do I have my being. Lead me in every circumstance to know that in You alone will I find life, liberty, and all that is needed.

Lord Jesus, You were not just chastened, but suffered the severe punishment of bearing all of our sin on Your body. You did this that we might be forever freed from sin’s recompense. Lead me in the way You know I need to go that in all things I would praise and honor the Father, returning the great love You have lavished on me. Amen.

“It shall be established forever like the moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful.” But You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.” (Psalm 89:37-38)

The promises of the Lord are everlasting. Though many fall away and go their own way, the Lord remains faithful. You who have been called by the Lord, why do you not heed what you have heard? Come then and know the goodness of the Lord and walk in His ways. Do not waver or fall into the way of the wicked. Do not tarry, thinking yourself exempt. Come back to the Lord and know life as it is to be lived.

Lord, I do waver and think that I can walk as others walk. I am polluted by the wickedness of this world that calls evil good. Clear my mind and thoughts to walk in Your ways always knowing that only in You can I find what my heart longs for. Guide me to walk with and in You always that I may now and forever remain in Your presence and live out Your purpose.

Thank You, Lord, for providing the way of salvation. Guide me, Savior, in the way I should walk. Help me to remain humble and faithful to the calling You have given me that I may now and always walk in Your ways and live according to the purpose for which I have been created. Now and always lead me in the calling of salvation You have put before me that I would learn faithfulness. Amen.

“Your wrath has rested upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves. You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out. My eye has wasted away because of affliction; I have called upon You every day, O Lord; I have spread out my hands to You.” (Psalm 88:7-9)

David cried out to the Lord amidst the estrangement he felt around Him. We all have periods of loneliness when it seems those we thought close draw away. Is not the Lord always there? Has He not walked with you all the days of your life? He is the One who has watched out for you all along. Should He not be the One who is closest to you? He is. Come and see His goodness.

Lord, no matter the circumstances of my life or what is happening, help me to know that You are always there. Guide me in Your goodness that I would walk with You always knowing that You are always with me. Help me live the way You would have me live knowing that You are with me always. Lift me up to be drawn ever closer to You that in all my ways I may walk knowing You are above me, beside me and within me.

Lord You are my salvation. In all things, You are there to guide and lead me. Help me now and always to abide in Your presence with the knowledge that You are always with me. Help me in every time of trouble to see that You are there. No matter where life takes me, help me remember that You are God, above all others, and You have reached out to me with Your salvation. Amen.

“You withdrew all Your fury; You turned away from Your burning anger.  Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your indignation toward us to cease.”  (Psalm 85:3-4)

The Lord did not create us to destroy us. He created us for relationship. Yet, in creating us for relationship, he cannot tolerate the sin that rules in our hearts. His burning anger is turned away by His grace and mercy. Come to the Lord and meet the One who made you and walk humbly with Your God. He will restore you to be whom He created you to be that you may walk with Him forever.

Lord, I know the struggle that is in my heart. Lead me, O Lord, to walk in the way of humility that You may work on my heart and transform it with Your goodness and mercy. Lead me in the way You know I need to go that I may be in Your presence always and live in the way You have established from the beginning. Keep Your wrath buried in the grace and mercy You have given me.

Lord Jesus, the One who makes possible the reconciliation You have granted by grace, lead me in the only way of truth and life that in You I may grow in Your likeness. Help me now and always to see Your goodness and mercy and walk with You, my Lord and my God. Keep me close to You that I may know fully Your grace and mercy and walk in a way pleasing to the Father. Amen.

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”” (Romans 12:19)

In October 2011, the United States dedicated a memorial to that great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.  It was King who once said, “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

Dr. King spoke this way because he was a Christian, steeped in the love of Jesus Christ.  He, our Lord, did not raise His voice against those who betrayed, arrested, and crucified Him.  To the contrary, He prayed for their forgiveness.  That mercy changed the world.

Does our nation listen today?  How the calls for revenge do rage.  Retaliation, just desserts, self-satisfaction—these cries riddle our public square.  There’s only one lasting solution, the remedy that satisfies every soul, silences tyrants, and calms nations: the cross of Jesus, where five wounds and an ocean depth of mercy swallowed anger and proclaimed for peace.  Raise that cross, and raise that voice, Christians; forgive, as you have been forgiven.

LET US PRAY:  Lord, You bid the whole world to come to You and rest.  Grant Your rest to every injured heart, and breathe Your Spirit of reconciliation into every community divided by accusation, that through the path of repentance and forgiveness Your world would know the peace that transcends understanding.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau