A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon;

where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Trust

From "A Future and A Hope" by Lloyd Ogilvie, copyright 1988 by Word, Inc. pp. 57-58

The other day I reread the ninth chapter of Isaiah. The words of the prophet leaped off the page, "The government will be upon His shoulder... and of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end..." (Isa. 9:6-9)

I wondered, is the government of my life upon the shoulders of the reigning Christ? Have I intentionally placed the concerns, challenges, people and the projects of my life on Him for His management? Do I want Him to take charge?

Having asked those questions, I sat back in my chair and laughed out loud. How stupid to live with a mess of stress when the Savior of the world has offered to run my life. He has limitless resources: all power in heaven and earth, authority to arrange circumstances, people to deploy to help, and knowledge of the future. Best of all, He gives us Himself -- unfailing Friend, gracious Comforter, and forgiving Saviour. The asurance of Christ's intervention gives us hope.
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