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Bring your offering and come into his presence
(1 Chronicles 16:29; NLT).
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1. Silence
Is my gift of gold,
2. And stillness,
All I can confer;
3. Solitude,
My frankincense,
4. And darkness, Lord,
My precious myrrh.
5. Sorrow
Is my heavy cross,
6. And suffering,
My sacred call;
7. Anguish,
My anointing oil,
8. And dying, Lord,
My bitter gall.
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My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
(Psalm 22:1; NLT).
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References
1. Be silent before the Sovereign Lord (Zephaniah 1:7; NIV).
1-4. They opened their treasure-chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11; NLT).
2. Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10; NIV).
3. When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6:6; NLT).
4. Darkness is my closest friend (Psalm 88:18; NLT).
5. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23; NLT).
6. If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).
7. In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body (Proverbs 5:11; NLT).
He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress (Lamentations 3:5; NLT).
When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial (Matthew 26:12; NET).
8. He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink (Lamentations 3: 5; NIV).
The Lord gives both death and life (1 Samuel 2:6; NLT).
Whatever we offer to God, no matter how poor or small, if we offer it wholeheartedly He accepts it. I don’t know the history of the phrase “to make a silk purse from a sows’ ear” but to me it talks of our Father God’s ability to take whatever we can offer Him and make something beautiful and holy with it.
Yes – all we can do is try, whilst putting ourselves into God’s hands. I do hope today will pass swiftly for you both, and that you will feel his closeness, unending support, and love XXXXXX
God bless you sister 🙏
Darkness may sometimes be our only candle, and the God of the universe lives in unapproachable light. However, thanks be to God for Christ! In Christ I can approach the throne of God with confidence—having been reconciled to God through His blood.
This is beautiful. Thanksgiving and Christmas are emotionally my most difficult times of the year. Reading this reflectively now that I’m past the intensity allows me to see the beauty. Ruth, I love your scripture references paired with your poetic writing.
Gosh! Hello, Manette, thank you so much for your very kind words – I’m overwhelmed by what you wrote. I hope you can see a bit further ahead, now that the emotional challenges of Thanksgiving and Christmas are, at least to some extent, behind you. I also hope you will find some hope in these prayer poems to carry you forwards, even if only by a little more each day XXXXXX