[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Thursday, May 24 2012

[Paul]

Hello and good evening to my fellow saints of the Most High God residing in North America.  In the eastern part of our continent, including Newfoundland and, if I might add, Greenland, the sun has been down for a little over two hours now as I write this.  On the other hand, you in the Mountain and Pacific time zones still have a little daylight left.  As to you in the Midwest, you're in the same predicament as we in the east.  Anyway how was your day today? Mine was good.  Thank God I don't have to see a dentist for about six months unless, of course, the crown that the good doctor inserted falls out.  Let's pray that it doesn't.

Our words of inspiration for this evening come from the pen of the undersigned, and was written during a low point in my life when I was told that my job as a medical transcriber would be terminated due to downsizing.  I simply didn't know where to turn, until my late mom and I sat on our living room sofa, held hands and prayed.  Then something in the back of my mind prompted me to remember about Social Security Disability Insurance, I applied and was accepted.  But there was that nagging question: Would the Lord still love me as an unemployed person? The answer was an obvious yes.  My thoughts in this prayer-poem express the inner feelings I had then better than I can express them in prose.  It's called "New Hope," and originally appeared in the January 2004 edition of Watering the Seed, the official journal of the Christian Poetry Society.

Teach me Your loving ways, Oh Lord,
As I journey across this land.
Help me to always remember
That I am held in Your precious hands.

I might not always do the things
That You have taught to me,
But I try to be the best Christian
That You would want me to be.

I know Your love sustains me
And You give me the strength to cope
With life's trials and tribulations
Because You fill me with new hope.

Please be patient with me, Lord,
As I grow closer to You each day,
And I pray that I will never fail you
As I walk life's perilous ways.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep you safe throughout this night and especially in these last days in which we live.  This is the ardent prayer of your Christian brother, Paul.