Because in each day, no matter how dark or how long, there is a praise to be found. Sometimes our hearts are too weary or too frightened to voice them, but our souls cry out to God... and He is there.
Lord, even in the long darkness,
Your love and grace shine through.
No other blessing, great or small,
Can hold a light to You!
John 8:12
Into Your hands, oh Lord, my God,
I lift this broken world.
We’ve seen redemption in Your blood,
And Your mercy unfurled.
Yet still, we struggle to give grace,
That we’re given each day,
To some of those who walk with us
Along the broken way.
While others still prefer their sin,
And will not understand
That resurrection from this life
Rests only in Your hand.
Still others, Lord, I can’t give grace,
For no grace lives in them.
They offer only rage and hate,
From souls hollow and grim.
I know that I’m called to forgive,
Yet, also to defend
The helpless and the innocent
From evil that won’t end.
I face that cross roads every day,
And every day I fail
To find a way to be a light
Upon the darkened trail.
Oh Lord, I know You are the King,
All power lies in You.
Please help me understand, then act
As You would have me do.
But most of all, Lord, let Your Word
Fill me up, mind and soul,
That I may walk through this lost world,
Yet give it no control.
I lift this world into Your hands,
Oh Lord, Eternal King,
And pray for healing and the grace
That only You can bring.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Oh Lord, I’m growing wearier
Of this world’s rage and grief,
But I can only see one path
Through which we’ll find relief.
I know that struggle, pain and loss
Are all a part of life,
But, it is to my great dismay,
That they come with such strife.
I know that You still rule this earth,
I have no doubt that’s true.
I pray that more hearts come to see
The path to peace is You.
I pray that more souls come to see
Wealth and celebrity
Won’t fill an empty life with joy,
Or set their spirit free.
I pray that more minds come to see
The truth that I have learned.
Mercy and grace are theirs to claim,
But they cannot be earned.
I pray, Lord, that this world, once more,
Will know what it once knew.
That heart and soul and mind will see
What we most need is You.
Matthew 22:37
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
The autumn rains are here at last,
Dancing on branch and bough.
I hear the whisper of their song
Calling me even now.
There is a peace in autumn’s rain,
A stillness I can feel,
That reminds me that winter’s calm
Is coming and it’s real.
Oh, Lord, the seasons are Your gift,
Each one brings its delights.
For me, autumn is about peace,
Still days and rainy nights.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven
I hold a secret in my heart
That no one knows but You.
You are the only one I trust
To help me see it through.
I know that it is safe with You,
As safe as it can be.
In fact, I trust You with it more
Than I even trust me.
Thank You for loving me enough
To hold it close to You,
And thank even more, Oh Lord,
For holding me close, too.
Psalm 13:5
But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
The storm was raging on the sea
And in their fear they cried.
He called out simply, “Peace. Be still!”
And all that uproar died.
The storm responded to His words,
But the twelve did, as well.
For His words calmed, in them, the fear
In which we often dwell.
I know that this must have been so,
For I have heard Him, too,
When I feel my storms rising up
And don’t know what to do.
Today my world came crashing in.
I could not bear the weight
Of all that I felt I must do
Before it grew too late.
I almost gave in to the storm,
In grief and pain, I cried,
But then I heard Him, “Peace. Be still,”
And felt the fear subside.
I can’t explain it properly,
As I have tried to do,
But I have no doubt that the voice
I clearly heard was You.
The words were simple, but the peace
They brought to me was real,
And even now, no storm can touch
The perfect peace I feel.
Peace! Be still!
Mark 4:39
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
There’s so much turbulence in life,
But I know what to do.
I step outside of all the noise,
And find my peace in You.
I want to weep at each day’s end,
But that won’t help me through.
I close my eyes, and walk in faith,
And find my peace in You.
You are the solace that I seek,
The answer that is true.
Though all the world tears at my soul,
I find my peace in You.
Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
You know that day that starts with tears,
But ends up wrapped in peace?
Well, He just brought me through that day.
His mercy does not cease.
I’ve walked this earth for many years,
And now my steps grow slow,
But His enduring mercy still
Follows me where I go.
He is the light that marks my path,
My shelter in the rain,
And I will always trust in Him
To bring me through the pain.
John 16:22
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
I felt the world press down on me,
A weight I could not bear.
I cried out, anxious in my fear,
“Shepherd, are You still there?”
“Can You still hear me when I cry,
Shepherd, do You still care?”
I knelt down in my own darkness
And lifted up my prayer.
Then light began to touch the sky
To warm the morning air.
I felt a soft voice call my name,
And I knew He was there.
He said He’d counted every tear,
And treasured every prayer.
He knew the doubt tormenting me,
And felt my deep despair.
He said, though I had walked hard roads,
My path was His to share.
That He was where He’d always been,
And He’d always been there.
For I am ever in His sight
And He has grace to spare.
He told me He still keeps me close,
My Shepherd will always care.
Numbers 27:17
who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.