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.
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.
The boat was dancing in the wind,
Racing before the gale,
Tipping close against the waves,
The wind filling its sail.
The trick is moving through the wind,
Staying above the waves
And knowing how to navigate
The sea that kills or saves.
As long as it stays on the waves
The wind will move it through,
But, if the waters seep inside,
There’s nothing it can do.
So is it for us, in this life,
As we move through the world,
We have to stay above the waves
And keep our sails unfurled.
For if we let the world spill in,
Its weight will drag us down,
And, in the bitterness of sin,
Our souls will flail, then drown.
2 Samuel 22:5
“For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;
Tonight, Lord, I want to be still.
Tomorrow’s coming fast,
And I will need to feel Your peace,
If my strength is to last.
As I have gotten older, Lord,
I feel weariness grow.
Though I may want to rise and shine,
Sometimes I barely glow.
Lord, help me to find rest tonight,
Renewing faith and strength,
Until I have enough of both
To rise again, at length.
Psalm 127:2
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Oh Lord, the little blessings fall
Like raindrops from the sky
And scatter on the barren ground,
Refreshing what was dry.
My weary spirit springs anew
And blossoms with delight
Thanks to the blessings of Your grace.
I grow, Lord, in Your Light.
What kind of love, Lord, offers me
Such grace and such blessing
That, from a withered, broken soul,
New life and hope can spring!
2 Corinthians 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
I call out to You in despair
For all of this world’s pain.
It seems that all the joy is lost,
And only tears remain.
The world is drifting far away
From all that’s good and true.
I see the darkness taking hold,
But I have faith in You.
This isn’t the first time this earth
Has fallen prey to lies
And given credence to false gods
Who wear a thin disguise.
It took Your sacrifice, in blood,
To wash us clean back then.
I’m grateful that redemption’s still
An answer to our sin.
For we are covered in it, Lord,
Body, mind and soul,
And nothing short of Your mercy
Can cleanse and make us whole.
I lift this sad and broken world
Into Your loving grace.
In all of heaven and of earth
There is no better place.
1 John 2:2
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
This muddy fellow is another photo gift from AC and her trip to Africa!