Great is Your Faithfulness

Can I sing, dear LORD, like David, a new song this morning?

Can I find words to touch upon Your greatness, Your goodness, Your endless glory?

Who are You, beyond what You do for us?

Then, as I ask myself that question,

I realize that all of Who You are embodies everything you do for us.

Father, Son and Spirit, united in the beauty of Your relationship—

the love flow, the affirmations to one another, the enjoyment of being together…

Such a gift that You chose to share it with us humans

whom You created from the dust of the earth You had made,

breathed in us the breath of life, the breath of Your indwelling Spirit…

And along with that, You gave us the freedom You enjoyed

knowing that it is only with freedom that love and relationship can be real.

Your mercies, new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Your love, reaching to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the sky.

So we stand, at this point in history,

amid a world in turmoil and people suffering untold adversities.

Looking back on a history of our world that flows with bloodshed and man’s raging against man…

And Who are You, LORD, as You survey all this?

Who are You, Jesus the Son,

who chose to come to be part of the humanity that had so despised You all?

Who are You, Spirit,

who, when the Son rose to His place of victory, chose to come and be with us and in us forever? 

Your mercies, new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Your love, reaching to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the sky.

I wandered recently in the woods,

crushing the brown shriveled maple leaves with a satisfying crunch underfoot,

wondering and pondering You-- Your presence, Your heart, Your love…

Gazing up through the tall conifers with their huge trunks, reaching up for the sunlight

The maples, cutting off their life force to invite a season of rest through the cold months

The squirrels busily racing and quarreling with one another as they store food for winter

Birds with their instinctive response to fly from summer warmth to winter solace

Your presence in all the creation around us,

a parable from every standpoint, if only we have eyes to see. 

Your mercies, new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Your love reaching to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the sky.

What does it look like for me to be to be faithful, this day, this moment…

What does it take to turn in toward God, toward my soul?

What will I choose in this moment, precious LORD?

So many opportunities offer themselves, so many ways to use this precious time…

Or maybe instead You want just me!

What does that look like, dear Spirit?

Can I, will I, choose just to sit—

to let go of my agenda and to bask in Your presence, to soak in Your love;

So that when I return to my tasks,

I return differently, not hurried, not allowing pressure to dictate my moments,

but with gratitude rising

—that I get to bless my friends with the dinner I am preparing

---that I get to grieve my friend who will be absent from our table

-- ---that I get to be loved, to be Your beloved, and be still in You.

Faithfulness means listening for Your small voice, pausing, checking in, being awake, alert, aware;

knowing that this present moment is filled with You, and I am invited to share it with You 

Your mercies, new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Your love, reaching to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the sky.

And how can I be faithful to those You have put in my life, LORD?

What does faithfulness look like in my interactions with others?

Am I steadfast in the commitments I have made both to them and to You?

Am I loyal and trustworthy as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend?

How do I love?

With the patience and kindness by which You define love,

with the lack of envy, boasting and pride;

not with self-seeking, nor easily angered;

with rejoicing in the truth…

Do I protect? trust? hope? and persevere? in my relationships as You do so beautifully with me?

And as I recognize that I don’t, and I can’t,

Your Spirit reassures me of Your presence within, Your gift of life,

Your forgiveness and Your invitation to remain in You and begin again. 

Your mercies, new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Your love, reaching to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the sky.

LORD, Your beauty shines through all.

You are everything we need for life and the godliness You have called us to.

You are our protector.

You are our guide.

You are Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever.

You are our hiding place, our shelter from the storm.

You invite us to rest and be restored under the shelter of Your wings.

You are Shepherd.

You are King.

You are Master.

You are in all and over all.

In You we live and move and have our being.

Even when we don’t recognize it, You are with us and in us. 

Your mercies, new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Your love, reaching to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the sky.