This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.

Isaiah 48:17

Dear God, I was just praying with my wife about you teaching us through some of the struggles we are experiencing. And to be clear, I am not complaining about the struggles. You have been better to us than we deserve. In fact, I hesitate to even use the word struggle when I compare my life to the lives of friends, but there are challenges to face, and I don’t want these challenges to be wasted. I want to be able to look back and see that I grew close to you through them.

That leads me to thinking about some of my friends who are struggling. Some are facing health issues. Some are facing issues with their children. One lost a child to a tragically random act of violence. Going back to this verse teach all of them, and me, what is good for us along this path you have for us, and show us the path to follow. Show me how to support my friends. Bring glory to yourself and not to me.

Father, I have a pastor friend who likes to say, “Never waste a good crisis.” That makes sense. It’s the crises of my life that you use to grow me and draw me closer to yourself. So I submit myself to you along this path. Shine through me and help me to live a life that brings you glory and your kingdom and will being dong into earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen