Faithful Lord,
Great God,
I sing, “Great is Thy faithfulness”
And tears fall as I sing-pray.
“My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!” (Ps. 119:28 ESV)
Day One: Strength for today—How Firm a Foundation
My broken body and overwhelming sadness need “strength for today.”
“Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you,
I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Is. 41:10 ESV emphasis added).
It’s been years and years. I’m tired, Father. Thank You for Your promises to me.
“Strength…
For…
Today.”
“Give us
this day
our daily
bread” (Mt. 6:11 ESV).
Manna.
For today.
In simply resting and praying, in and out of sleep, unable to accomplish.
Any strength I ever have? It comes from You.
Your gift, in any measure.
“As one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 4:11 ESV, emphasis added).
Today, my resting is serving You, Lord. Why? That You may be glorified, just as Jesus did. Hallowing You.
“Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name” (Mt. 6:9 ESV).
Selah, I’m pausing and calmly thinking about that.
Ah! Now You’re giving me “strength for today” by reminding me of how You
gave me strength
yesterday.
And the day before that.
And the month before that.
For years and years.
Day Two: Your strength, in every yesterday
I sing, “Morning by morning,
New mercies I see.
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided!”
Yes! So, you will provide
Today
Every strength I need for any task
You
Have planned for me. Or not. Maybe it’s not “tasks” today.
Maybe, it’s…
Every strength to endure symptoms in Your always-sufficient grace.
In every pain-full moment.
Every dizzy whirl.
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Is. 40:29 ESV).
Every exhausted cloud.
“My flesh and my heart may fail…”
Every GI mess I face, with every bite.
“But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:26 ESV).
Every lonely attack and temptation to be discontented.
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10 ESV).
“Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”
Day Three: Strength in Your presence
Doctors can only subdue symptoms (sort of and sometimes).
Whack-a-mole treatments.
But You are with me.
Today is a day to worship You and rest in Your strong and refuging presence, with a safe and sheltered soul as Your beloved in Christ.
This IS my strength! My serving and glorifying You! This is Your “victory” in this tempting battle with sin…within my context…an illness life on earth.
“But I will sing of
your strength;
I will sing aloud of
your steadfast love
in the morning.
For you have been to me
a fortress
and a refuge
in the day of my distress” (Ps. 59:16 ESV).
“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth…”
“Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide!”
Day Four: Strength in my salvation!
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23 ESV).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23 ESV).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 ESV).
“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress!”
“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12 ESV).
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1-2 ESV).
Jesus, You pray to our Father…for me…
Remind me of gospel truths today, when I fall weary.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33 ESV).
Remind me of Jesus and the righteousness You’ve given me, His alone. You are the source, You are the saving refuge for me, from beginning to end.
“The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed” (Ps. 28:7-8 ESV).
I feel so weak, so faith-less, but You are the One who gave me faith, who is giving me faith, and who will continue to give me faith.
“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (Ps. 118:14 ESV).
“Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
Day Five: “Bright hope for tomorrow!”
Do I believe that one day, my broken body will be made whole in Your forever presence?
“All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (Jn. 6:37 ESV).
Do I assuredly know I will live with You eternally?
“[He] will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (2 Cor. 1:8 ESV).
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12 ESV).
Maybe today is a day for me to rejoice in my hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ…
Constant in prayer…
Helping me to be patient in tribulation.
When I’m peering into tomorrow,
Wondering if I’ll be able to “do” anything,
Imagining worsened symptoms.
I’m fixating on everything but reality…a “bright hope for tomorrow.”
Keep me focused on what You’ve done for me in Christ, powerful God.
“Blessings all mine, and ten thousand beside!”
Tomorrow will hold blessings too.
Ones of Your strengthening work within me, no matter what tomorrow brings to my body.
“God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling” (Ps. 46:1-3 ESV).
“Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
In the name of Jesus, my refuge and strength, my glorious hope forever, amen.
A gift of therapeutic music! Did you know?
God designed endorphins to act as natural opioid painkillers or sedatives “by sending a neural signal to reduce pain and provide anxiety relief.”1
Guess what increases endorphins?! Particular uses of music! Singing helps the most, but even listening can help. The podcast is designed for this exact purpose, with this post’s hymns and Scriptures.
Tips for using podcast:
Use noise-cancelling headphones. Eliminate distraction. Close your eyes. Put your body in a comfortable position, ideally lying flat with knees supported by a pillow.
Tap on your body if it’s still hard to focus on the sound.
As you begin to breathe to the music, put one hand on your belly and notice its rise and fall. Fill your belly with air as each Scripture and hymn fills your thoughts.
The pulsing beat of the music intentionally offers you musical phrases of inhalations of about 8 heats, a short resting there, and a slow exhale of about 6-8 beats. Ask God to help you breathe in time to the music and “sing” the lyrics in your thoughts, using this set-apart time to rest and worship Him.
Practice as He helps reset your autonomic nervous system and heal the beautifully complex body He’s created for us.
I’m joining you! I NEED this! Any favorite hymns you’d love to use for future podcasts? Any tweaks you’d like?
Korb, A. (2015). The upward spiral: Using neuroscience to reverse the course of depression, one small change at a time. New Harbinger Publications, p. 86.
How can I have “bright hope for tomorrow” when I’m so sick?