Underneath our troubles

Ruth Kirk

Underneath you are his eternal arms
(Deuteronomy 33:27; NET).

1. Underneath our troubles,
When we must face the test
Of worry, fear, or loneliness:
Lord, may we find your rest.

2. Underneath our sorrows,
When we live with the pain
Of anguish, loss, or suffering:
May we find hope again.

3. Underneath our questions,
When we go far astray
Through error, sin, or unbelief:
Lord, may we find your way.

4. Underneath our burdens,
When we approach each chore
With heavy heart, or weariness:
May we find peace, once more.

Keep on seeking and you will find
(Matthew 7:7; NLT).

References

1. My life is full of troubles (Psalm 88:3; NLT).

The Lord tests the heart (Proverbs 17:3; NLT).

I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28; NLT).

2. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).

You care about the anguish of my soul (Psalm 31:7; NLT).

I will put my hope in God (Psalm 42:5; NLT).

3. They finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious leaders, listening to them and asking questions (Luke 2:46; NLT).

I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24; NLT).

Jesus told him, “I am the way” (John 14:6; NLT).

4. Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28; NLT).

The peace I give is a gift the world cannot give (John 14:27; NIV).

First and Last

Ruth Kirk

I alone am God, the First and the Last
(Isaiah 48:12; NLT).

1. What God wants
Comes first.

2. What God wants
Is good.

3. What God wants
Is mercy.

4. What God wants
Is love.

5. What we want
Is fleeting.

6. What we want
Is past.

7. What we want
Is fruitless.

8. What we want
Comes last.

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us
(Colossians 3:11; NLT).


References

1. Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29; NLT).

2. Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2; NLT).

3. If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless (Matthew 12:7; NKJV).

4. Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40; NLT).

5. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting (Proverbs 31:30; NIV).

The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away (Job 1:21; NLT).

He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25; NLT).

6. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor (Daniel 4:27; NLT).

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20; NLT).

7. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives (Galatians 5:24-5; NLT).

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-3; NRSV).

8. Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else (Mark 9:35; NLT).

Transformation (with thanks to A.K.)

Ruth Kirk


“Only God can turn the dark night into glorious heavenly light”
(Alan Kearns).

Lord,

1. Turn our anguish
Into peace;
Our darkness
Into dazzling light.

2. Turn our sorrow
Into joy;
Our blindness
Into perfect sight.

3. Turn our judgements
Into love;
Our sickness
Into welcome rest,

4. And turn our dying
Into life eternal,
When we’ve faced
Each test.


References

1. Lord, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs (Lamentations 1:20; NLT).

The Lord turns my darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29; NIV).

2. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice (Psalm 51:8; NLT).

The Lord gives sight to the blind (Psalm 146:8; NIV).

3. Do not judge others, and you will not be judged (Luke 6:37; NLT).

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them (Romans 12:9; NLT).

The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence” (Isaiah 30:15; CSB).

4. Our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53; NLT).

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25; NLT).

The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NIV).

Darkness is the same as light

Ruth Kirk

1. Darkness is the same
As light:
Both conceal God
From my sight.

2. Wrapped in shadow,
Dazzling bright,
He guides my spirit,
Day and night.

3. Light and dark
Are just the same:
Both declare
His sacred name,

4. Which cleanses me
Of sin and shame,
And sets my dying heart
Aflame.


References

1. Darkness and light are the same to you (Psalm 139:12; NLT).

He made darkness his covering (Psalm 18:11; NIV).

He lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will (1 Timothy 6:16; NLT).

2. He shrouded himself in darkness (2 Samuel 22:12; NLT).

The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment (Psalm 104:2; NIV).

He is clothed in dazzling splendour (Job 37:22; NLT).

The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. this allowed them to travel by day or by night (Exodus 13:21; NLT).

3. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge (Psalm 19:1-2; NIV).

What a holy and awe-inspiring name he has! (Psalm 111:9; NLT).

4. You were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11; NLT).

My days vanish like smoke, my bones burn like glowing embers (Psalm 102:3; NIV).

Everyone will be salted with fire (Mark 9:49; NIV).

Temptation

Ruth Kirk

Sin is crouching at your door;
it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it
(Genesis 4:7; NIV).

1. Temptation comes
When our desires
Entice, then drag, us
To the place

2. Where they give birth
To sinful thoughts,
And words, and deeds
That hide God’s face.

3. Yet, as we stumble
In the dark,
He helps us to resist,
Through grace.


References

1. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away (James 1:14; NLT).

2. These desires give birth to sinful actions (James 1:15; NLT).

Their thoughts are sinful thoughts (Isaiah 59:7; CSB).

I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me (Psalm 51:3; NIV).

Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden his face from you (Isaiah 59:2;  NKJV).

3. If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God (Isaiah 50:10; NLT).

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13; NASB).

My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9; NLT).

Sacred source

Ruth Kirk

1. Lord, you are my sacred source,
My Maker, and my God.
You give me life, and breath, and food;
A mind, a heart, a voice.

2. You give me faith; a conscience, Lord;
Remorse, forgiveness, hope.
You give me independence, and invention,
Insight, choice.

3. You give me trials and sorrows, Lord;
You give me joy and peace.
You give me worship, prayer, and praise;
Delight, and comfort, too.

4. You give me help; salvation, Lord,
And your unfailing love.
Then you embrace my soul in death,
For I am one with you.

References

1. Everything we have has come from you (1 Chronicles 29:14; NLT).

He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25; NIV).

2. It is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8; NIV).

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10; NLT).

3. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3; NLT).

4. He helps me (Psalm 28:7; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Day and night

Ruth Kirk

Image: MustangJoe, Pixabay

✚ I create the light and make the darkness (Isaiah 45:7; NLT).

1. Sunrise over waking mountains,
Tender, glowing, rose-pink sky;

2. God pours out his light and glory,
Stooping down, to hear each sigh.

3. Sunset over hills and valleys,
Shining, fading, dying day;

4. God spreads out his sacred darkness,
Stooping down, to hear us pray.

✚ The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world (Psalm 19:1-4; NLT).

Image: Denny Franzkowiak, Pixabay

References

1. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3; NLT).

2. The glory of the Lord rises to shine on you (Isaiah 60:1; NLT).

He bends down to listen (Psalm 116:2; NLT).

3. You send the darkness, and it becomes night (Psalm 104:20; NLT).

4. He made darkness his covering (Psalm 18:11; RSV).

Clouds and thick darkness surround him (Psalm 97:2; NIV).

He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth (Psalm 113:6; NLT).

You will pray to him, and he will hear you (Job 22:27; NLT).

Revive my fading faith

Ruth Kirk

Image: geralt, Pixabay

🧡

If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).

1. Lord,
Revive my fading faith,
Then I’ll believe in you.

But if you don’t revive my faith,
I’ll still hold fast to you.

2. Lord,
Renew my ebbing hope,
Then I will trust in you.

But if you don’t renew my hope,
I’ll still cling tight to you.

3. Lord,
Repair my dying love,
Then I will worship you.

But if you don’t repair my love,
I’ll still belong to you.

4. Lord,
Restore my failing health,
Then I will follow you.

But if you don’t restore my health,
I’ll still be one with you.

🧡

References

1. I lie in the dust; revive me by your word (Psalm 119:25; NLT).

Believe in the Lord your God (2 Chronicles 20:20; NLT).

Hold fast to him (Deuteronomy 11:22; NIV).

2. Renew my life with your goodness (Psalm 119:40; NLT).

Trust in God (John 14:1; NLT).

Cling tightly to the Lord your God (Joshua 23:8; NLT).

3. I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages (Amos 9:11; NKJV).

Worship the Lord your God (Luke 4:8; NIV).

Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8; NIV).

4. Restore me to health and make me live (Isaiah 38:16; ESV).

Follow me and be my disciple (Matthew 9:9; NLT).

Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17; NIV).

We come from you

Ruth Kirk

Image: Denis Doukhan, Pixabay

🧡

Almighty God,

We come from you,
The One who gives us life,
And breath,

Until we reunite with you,
For evermore,
Beyond our death.

🧡

References

All things come from you (1 Chronicles 29:14; NKJV).

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).

He himself gives life and breath to everything (Acts 17:25; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Reach out to Christ

Ruth Kirk

Image: Sasin Tipchai, Pixabay

💛

He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.
Reach out your hand and put it in my side.
Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27; NIV).

1. Reach out to Christ.
Take his way as your own.
Have faith in his teaching,
And make his praise known.

2. Reach out to Christ.
Take his truth as your guide.
Then trust in his mercy,
And walk by his side.

3. Reach out to Christ.
Take his life as your light.
Love all those you contact,
And dwell in his sight.

4. Give him your body,
Your heart, soul, and mind –
Then follow him gladly,
And serve humankind.

💛

References

1. Jesus told him, “I am the way” (John 14:6; NLT).

A person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16; NLT).

Make known his praise around the world (Isaiah 12:5; NLT).

2. Jesus told him, “I am […] the truth” (John 14:6; NLT).

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13; NLT).

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever (Psalm 52:8; NKJV).

3. Jesus told him, “I am […] the life” (John 14:6; NLT).

His life brought light to everyone (John 1:4; NLT).

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them (Romans 12:9; NLT).

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and refusing to let the world corrupt you (James 1:27; NLT).

The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him (Psalm 33:18; NKJV).

4. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Luke 10:27; NLT).

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24; NLT).

You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways (Isaiah 64:5; NLT).

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40; NIV).