Dear God,
I seek comfort and peace from my faith, but I have learned that true intimacy with you comes from the opposite pole.
It's in our episodes of adversity, suffering and discipline that you are “up-close and personal.”
Surely, you desire our worship, service and study, but finding to you in adversity, clinging to you in hardship…
…is where Christian character is developed
…is where Godly wisdom grows
…is where bonds of trust are cemented
…is where your presence is most keenly experienced.
Lord Christ, when I see trouble help me to see you, not dimly, not in the distance or in the shadows, but “up-close and personal.”
Through the power of your Spirit, Amen.
