The joy of the Lord is your strength.  Nehemia 8:10

Some years ago a church member, Jackie, was hospitalized because she had sustained a very serious fracture. The prognosis was not good. In all probability she would never walk again.  I went with the youth group to visit her in the hospital. We began to talk to her, but instead of our group offering words of hope and encouragement to her, she shared a vision of faith and words of strength with us. When I returned home, I recalled the words that had affected me the most: “The joy of the Lord is our strength. We must remain faithful to God at all times.”  Jackie has died, but time has not erased the memory of her faithful witness and her trust in God under difficult circumstances. Now, I don’t dwell on how big my problems are; rather, I remember how great my God is.

Faithful God, in the midst of our problems, help us to see your power. As Jesus taught us, we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”* Amen.