REFLECTIONS
August 14, 2005
 
 
the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him
Deuteronomy 4:7
 
 
God’s Address
 
It seems that a significant number of my friends are facing trials in their lives. One friend described his trials as troubling, but then quickly minimized them by describing his matters as “just life things.” But the trials that some are facing are more than just life things. Some of them are life changing things.
In reflecting on these dear friends and the matters that they are facing, I remember a statement that Dallas Willard once made, “When you reach the end of your rope, God is there. The End of Your Rope is God’s address.”  But whether or not you are at the end of your rope, I would like to offer this Reflections as my prayer for you. I will begin with the moving and beautiful words sung by Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.
So today I come to you to ask that you draw my friends near to you that they may feel your presence and your love as you guide them through difficult days that may lie ahead. I ask that you help them experience your support, your mercy, and your love, and may they may find your peace.
We thank you dear God for all the many blessings of our lives, for our families, for our friends, for the abundance of life we enjoy in the country you have blessed us to live in. We ask your help in remembering to honor you with those many blessings.
Please help us to remember that you are with us always as you promised, and to understand that we need not wait for times of despair to come to you. Help us grow in our relationship with you, to speak with you continually as Apostle Paul encouraged, to listen even as your replies come in unexpected ways, and to feel your hand as you gently guide us down our paths.
Gracious God we come to you in thanksgiving that you are always there in our times of need and for the comfort we find when we come to you; and we pray these things in the precious name of your Son, Jesus the Christ. 
                                                                                                        Amen.
May we pay daily visits to God’s address no matter where we are on our ropes; the trip is not a long one—He is always near.
 
“You are the light of the world,”
Richard Ì


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