If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord, and rely on your God (Isaiah 50:10; NLT).
I grope towards you, Lord,
In darkness,
Blunder,
On your narrow way;
Burdened
By my trials and sorrows,
Trusting you, Lord,
Every day.
I grope towards you, Lord,
In silence;
Lost in stillness;
All alone;
Yearning, Lord,
To see your face,
When you draw near
To take me home.
They shall see his face
(Revelation 22:4; KJV).
All his holy ones are in his hands
(Deuteronomy 33:3; NLT).
God holds us in his loving hands,
No matter how far we stray.
Whatever he sends, he cares for us,
Guiding us through each day.
God holds us in his gentle hands,
No matter how far we roam.
Whatever he sends, he carries us,
Bringing us safely home.
God holds us in his mighty hands,
No matter how great our fear.
Whatever he sends, he comforts us,
For, even in death, he’s near.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
(Psalm 23:4; KJV).
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NIV).
Lord,
You gave your only Son
To live and die for all,
And then you raised him
From the dead,
For we still hear
His call.
Lord,
You sent your only Son
To claim us as his own,
And now he waits
Within us all,
To make our hearts
His home.
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT).
No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39; NLT).
God’s presence surrounds you
Below and above:
Rest in his shelter,
And breathe in his love.
His presence extends
On your left and your right:
Live in his goodness,
And walk in his light.
God’s presence supports you
Without and within:
Tell him your sorrows,
And whisper each sin.
His presence goes with you
Before and behind:
Pray; rejoice; thank him,
And always be kind.
God’s presence stays with you
Wherever you roam:
Trust in him, always –
Your heart is his home.
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT).
I send good times and bad times.
I, the Lord,
am the one who does these things
(Isaiah 45:7; NLT).
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord
(Job 1:21; NLT).
Father,
When you give me light
I praise your holy name.
When you send me
Clouds and darkness,
May I do the same.
Father,
When you grant me peace
I bless your sacred name.
When you send me
Fear and anguish,
May I do the same.
Father,
When you give me joy
I praise your holy name.
When you send me
Grief and sorrow,
May I do the same.
Father,
When you grant me health
I bless your sacred name.
When you send me
Pain and sickness,
May I do the same.
Father,
While you give me life
I’ll praise your holy name.
When you call me home
In death,
May I do just the same.
I will praise the Lord at all times
(Psalm 34:1; NLT).
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🤎
When will you come to me? (Psalm 101:2; NIV).
1. Come to me
In fear and pain,
When all my hopes, Lord God,
Seem vain.
2. Come when all is dark
And still,
To help me face
Your perfect will.
3. Come:
Death is already here;
My final breath
Is drawing near.
4. Come, for I am lost,
Alone:
Please come, at last,
To take me home.
🤎
References
1. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1; NIV).
We have become old, dry bones – all hope is gone (Ezekiel 37:11; NLT).
2. You have taken away my companions and my loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend (Psalm 88:18; NLT).
You will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2; NLT).
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).
3. My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me (Job 17:1; NLT).
The time of my death is near (2 Timothy 4:6; NLT).
4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? (Psalm 22:1; NIV).
You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave (Psalm 16:10; NLT).
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✝️
1. You come to me
In fear and pain,
When every hope, Lord God,
Seems vain.
2. You come when life is dark
And chill,
To help me face
Your perfect will.
3. You come, Lord,
When my race is run,
And all my days on earth
Are done.
4. You come when I am lost,
Alone –
You come, at last,
To take me home.
✝️
References
1. Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you (Isaiah 35:4; NLT).
We have become old, dry bones – all hope is gone (Ezekiel 37:11; NLT).
2. My Father! 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).
You will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2; NLT).
3. My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me (Job 17:1; NLT).
4. You have taken away my companions and my loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend (Psalm 88:18; NLT).
Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture),“I thirst” (John 19:28; RSV).
You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave (Psalm 16:10; NLT).
He restores my soul (Psalm 23:3; NKJV).
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🧡
I will put my dwelling-place among you
(Leviticus 26:11; NIV).
1. May my flesh, Lord, be a tent,
Where you encamp in light.
Then I’ll spend all my days with you,
And rest with you at night.
2. May my mind, Lord, be a fort,
Where you establish peace.
Then I will pray, rejoice in you,
And worship without cease.
3. May my heart, Lord, be a home,
Where you outpour your love.
Then you will be my inner voice,
And help me to do good.
4. May my soul, Lord, be a shrine,
Where you preside, in grace.
Then you will be my Comforter,
And I your dwelling-place.
🧡
References
1. We know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself (2 Corinthians 5:1; NLT).
I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling (2 Samuel 7:6; NLT).
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light (Micah 7:8; NLT).
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).
2. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety (2 Samuel 22:2-3; NLT).
Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).
Rejoice in the Lord (Psalm 32:11; NLT).
You must fear the Lord your God and worship him (Deuteronomy 10:20; NLT).
3. Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT).
With the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows (Psalm 130:7; NLT).
After the fire [there came] a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12; KJV).
Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone (Galatians 6:10; NLT).
4. You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).
Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead (Romans 5:21; NLT).
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (John 14:16; KJV).
I will comfort you (Isaiah 66:13; NKJV).
My dwelling-place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people (Ezekiel 37:27; NIV).
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The one who enters through the gate
is the shepherd of the sheep
(John 10:2; NLT).
1. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you lead me
Through the gate,
To talk with me
At Eden’s eve,
And walk with me
Beneath the trees.
2. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you guide me
Through the gate,
Then take my hand
And kneel with me
To pray, in dark
Gethsemane.
3. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you come, Lord,
Through the gate,
To roll away
The heavy stone
At Golgotha,
And take me home.
4. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you bear me
Through the gate
Of heaven,
For you’ve heard my plea,
And paid the price
To ransom me.
Image: Pete Linforth, Pixabay
References
1. Watch and listen (Ezekiel 40:4; NLT).
Wait for the Lord (Psalm 37:34; CSB).
He leads me (Psalm 23:2; NLT).
Enter through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13; NIV).
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground (Genesis 2:8-9; NLT).
You were in Eden, the garden of God (Ezekiel 28:13; NLT).
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden (Genesis 3:8; NLT).
2. I will take you by the hand and guard you (Isaiah 42:6; NLT).
He guides me along right paths (Psalm 23:3; NLT).
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker (Psalm 95:6; NLT).
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36; NLT).
He went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! 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).
3. He, bearing his cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called, in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him (John 19:17; NKJV).
In the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus (John 19:41; NKJV).
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door (Matthew 28:1-2; NKJV).
God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself (Psalm 49:15; NIV).
4. Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43; NLT).
He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart (Isaiah 40:11; NLT).
How awesome is this place! This none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! (Genesis 28:17; NKJV).
He has heard my plea for mercy! (Psalm 28:6; NET).
By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:14; NLT).
I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offences like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free (Isaiah 44:22; NLT).
I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me (Psalm 71:23; NLT).
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Image: Ulrike Leone, Pixabay
🌕
1. Each day, Lord,
I wake in the dawn of your love,
And pray
In your heavenly light.
2. Each morning,
I wash in the fall of your dew,
Then take up my cross
In your sight.
3. Each evening,
I rest in the shade of your wings,
Then sleep in your arms
All night through.
4. But one day you’ll call
My frail spirit back home —
Then I’ll reunite, Lord,
With you.
Image: MustangJoe, Pixabay
References
1. When I wake up, you are still with me! (Psalm 139:18; NLT).
Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice (Psalm 55:17; NKJV).
I am the light of the world (John 8:12; NLT).
2. Your dew is like the dew of the morning (Isaiah 26:19; NIV).
Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew (Deuteronomy 33:13; NLT).
I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven (Hosea 14:5; NLT).
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).
3. Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28; NLT).
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 36:7; NLT).
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27; NIV).
4. I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).
Then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NLT).
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one (John 17:21; NLT).