Anchor of the Soul

Which hope we have...
as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast... (Hebrews 6:19)

The storms of life prevail against me...
all around me the fearful breakers roar
threatening to engulf and capsize me...
they swirl and rise all around me,
attempting to make me drift
into the Point Of Disenchantment.

The winds of change assail me,
seeking to throw me off course,
even run me aground
on the rocks of Shallow Living.
The currents try to pull me
into the Strait of Ambition
which empties into the Bog of Faithlessness.

But this I know full well in my soul...

Jesus, You are my chart and my compass...
take hold of my helm, keep me on an even keel,
O Captain of my salvation (Hebrews 2:10)...

Anchor me in Your unfailing love...
where I place all my hope.
You who set every star in its place...
You tend to my every need.
You are my strength, and my delight.

You alone, Christ, are my clear passage.
My port of call is Your throne.
You pilot my vessel...

By Your power,
You still the wild and roaring sea storms.
(Job 26:12)
You arise, and rebuke the wind.
You say “Peace, be still”
The wind ceases and there is great peace...
(Mark 4:39) ...
even a peace which passes all understanding
(Philippians 4:7)

There is no place Your sovereign hand cannot reach.
You are my comfort. You are my shelter.
This only lengthens the cable of my faith.
Your word makes the anchor hold.

I have Your oath and Your promise
that You will make all grace abound toward me
(2 Corinthians 9:8)

Your promises are sure, Your Word never fails,
Your character is trustworthy... completely dependable...
the hope I have in Your love anchors me.

I take hold of this hope with both hands,
this unbreakable spiritual lifeline...
I am not moved (Psalm 55:22, Colossians 1:23)

I am securely fastened to You, Christ
Guide me, until at last, I'm safe in Your harbor.

God of my Comfort

My joy has flown away,
grief has settled on me.
My heart is sick.
When I would comfort myself against sorrow,
my heart is faint in me. (Jeremiah 8:18)

People have heard me groaning,
but there is no one to comfort me...
(Lamentations 1:21)
[... not even one to assuage my sadness,
nor lessen my anguish]

If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation placed with it on a scale. (Job 6:2)

My eyes grow weary looking for what You have promised,
I ask, “When will You comfort me?” (Psalm 119:82)

LORD, how long will you continually forget me?
How long will You hide Your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)

Turn, LORD! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love. (Psalm 6:4)

May your faithful love comfort me,
as You promised Your servant (Psalm 119:76)

I am weary from grief,
strengthen me through Your word. (Psalm 119:28)

For whatever was written before...
was written for my instruction,
so that through my endurance
and through the comfort of the Scriptures
I may have hope. (Romans 15:4)

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort…
(2 Corinthians 1:3)

This is my comfort in my affliction:
Your promise has given me life (Psalm 119:50)

You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again. (Psalm 71:21)

Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger, for You are with me,
[God of my Comfort], your rod and staff --
they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

He comforts me in all my affliction,
so that I may be able to comfort those
who are in any kind of affliction,
through the comfort I myself receive from God.
(2 Corinthians 1:4)

If then there is any encouragement in Christ,
if any consolation of love,
if any fellowship with the Spirit,
if any affection and mercy,
fulfill my joy by thinking the same way,
having the same love,
sharing the same feelings,
focusing on one goal. (Philippians 2:1-2)

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and God our Father, who has loved me,
and has given me everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace,
comfort your hearts and strengthen you
in every good word and work.
( 2Thessalonians 2:16-17)

Longings

My heart is restless from trembling, O God,
my soul is homesick and my eyes fail me... (Deuteronomy 28:65)

Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight,
my groans are an old story to You... (Psalm 38:9)

I'm homesick... longing for Your salvation;
I'm waiting for Your word of hope... (Psalm 119:81)

My heart bursts with longing for You.
Everything in me cries out for You.
Softly and tenderly I wait for You...

Only You, Lord, satisfy the longing soul,
and fill the hungry soul with goodness... (Psalm 107:9)

Through the night my souls longs for you.
Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to You.
Lord, You hear the importunate prayers,
You see the tear-filled imploring,
You feel the rhythm of my pleadings...
the stirrings of desire...

Longing for You is the sweetest sorrow...

My spirit is parched without You.
I am out of breath thirsty for You...

Drench me again, LORD GOD,
in Your river of mercy,
where the streams of abundance flow...

Drown my self-pity...
for it holds no value in Your economy.

Every fiber of my being bristles with excitement
at being in Your presence...
like a magnet You sway me to Yourself,
the pulse of Your Spirit draws me...
pulling me, all of me, closer to Yourself...

You refresh me, O GOD, with Yourself...
and it is enough to satisfy my every longing.

In Christ

Since I am in Christ, by the Grace of God….
I put all my trust in Christ. (John 3:15)
Without Him, I can do nothing. (John 15:5)
In Christ, I live, and move, and have my being.
(Acts 17:28)

I have been forgiven of all of my sins and set free.
I have crossed over from death to eternal life with God.
(John 5:24)

I have been crucified with Christ...
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
The new life that I have because of Jesus will never go away.
(Galatians 2:20)

The sinful person that I used to be died with Christ,
and sin no longer rules my life. (Romans 6:1-6)

In Christ, I have been made righteousness...
in the sight of the Father (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I am now acceptable to God (justified)
and completely forgiven.

I live at peace with Him. (Romans 5:1)
I am God’s possession, chosen and secure in Him (sealed).

I have been given the Holy Spirit...
as a promise of my inheritance to come.
(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

I am God’s building project,
His handiwork, created in Christ to do His work.
(Ephesians 2:10)
I am a temple – a dwelling place – for God.
His Spirit and His life live in me.
(1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19)

I have the right to come boldly
before the throne of God in prayer.
He will meet my needs lovingly and kindly.
(Hebrews 4:16)

I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.
He listens to my prayers. (Ephesians 2:18)
I was chosen by God to be adopted as His child.
(Ephesians 1:4-5)

I am a child of God. I can call Him “Father.”
(John 1:12-13, Romans 8:14-17)

I am only a visitor to this world in which I temporarily live.
(1 Peter 2:11)

I abide in Christ and bring forth much fruit. (John 15:5)

I can endure all things...
through Christ who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

Truly, I am complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)

Naked

I stand naked before You LORD…
What can I say that You can not hear?
What could I think that You don't already know?
Where could I touch that You have not already reached?
Expose the hidden and dark recesses of my soul
Fill them with knowledge of You
Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts
and see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24)

I stand naked before you LORD…
Bereft of all the trappings of vanity
I willingly divest myself...
of all things contrary to your nature
Stripped of all earthly desires,
only Your loving protection covers me...
I own nothing but the love you have given me
This is the very love by which my soul cleaves to You...
You are closer than my next breath...

I stand naked before you LORD…
Desiring nothing...
but the quietude of Your presence...
To worship You, my only allegiance,
in the beauty of holiness...
To render to you the glory due unto Your name
(1Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 96:9)

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are clothed with honor and majesty
(Psalm 104:1)

O the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
how unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33)
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high,
I cannot attain to it (Psalm 139:6)

I stand naked before you LORD…
Seeking only to be clothed with Christ (Romans 13:14)
To put on heartfelt compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12)

I am made righteous by Your own sacrifice ~
Love this profound is beyond any measure
I greatly rejoice in the LORD,
my soul is joyful in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)

With a pure heart, a clear conscience...
unfeigned faith... in humble adoration...
I worship You in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24)

Meanwhile, my soul groans,
longing to be clothed with its heavenly dwelling
(2 Corinthians 5:2)

Intimacy

Creator of the universe,
the only living and true God, Lord of eternity,
You made me... You shaped me...
first inside, then out, you formed me in my mother's womb.

I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...
Your works are marvelous, this my soul knows right well...
You know me inside out, You know every bone in my body...
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
(Psalm 139:13-15)
You know me better than I know myself.

You have Your eye upon me at all times.
You sustain me (Hebrews 1:3) ...
such is the power of Your word.
What joy to experience such intimate presence
with the lover of my soul! (Isaiah 38:17)

Surely, I could not make or save myself...
only You can do that...
For I am Your workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works. (Ephesians 2:10)

God of my comfort, I depend on You,
dear soul provider... and I owe You my life...
every day, yes, every minute...
It is no longer I that lives, but Christ living in me
(Galatians 2:20) ...
Christ... the hope of glory
(Colossians 1:27)

You are the first cause of every movement.
You provide every breath. You provide every heart beat,
counting out the length of my days...
You stir my soul...
without You, I am nothing and can do nothing... (John 15:5)

For in Him, we live, and move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

Questions

Lord, You are the Master of my days...
You already know what shall be the length of them
Only You know what will be the final percentage
of how many I truly lived for You...

What will be the shortfall?
How many did I spend thinking of myself?
How many did I try to do things without You?
How many days went by that I didn't commune with You?
... or forgot You altogether?
How many days did I spend taking things for granted?
How many were spent on the follies of this world?
... indulgences in the temporary?
How many were faithless?

How many of my days will You count
that You were truly satisfied by my living? ...
that brought You honor and glory?
If anything, what thing did I do
that brought You the most pleasure?
How many beyond the age of reason did I live
only for Christ?
How many were spent being sensitive to You...
living an obedient, fruitful, holy life?

I don't want to ask what may have been...
only change me now... in Jesus' name

This life will soon be past,
Only what is done for Christ will last...

For me to live is Christ, to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)