Meat for the Hungry

  Driving home the other night, a brilliant coral-pink sunset lined the western horizon. As my eyes drifted upward, the coral melded into a radiant teal-blue. To the south, grayish clouds swiped the sky as though a painter’s brush stroked a canvas. To the north, a straight line of speckled clouds marched across the heavens, and in my imagination, they were birds flying south for the winter. Closer to earth, trees appeared as silhouettes against the vibrant coral being swallowed up by deepening blue. Soon the “birds” dissipated, and one lone star emerged, glimmering like a tiny diamond.   A flash of awe struck me—my God is the Painter, and this is His handiwork. I let go of the day’s turmoil and just gloried in His greatness. How amazing such a small, ordinary thing can, in a moment, transport me into God’s presence and cause spontaneous worship.   I wish this would happen to all humans, yet sadly, not everyone who sees this beauty understands the majesty of its ...

  DAY SIXTEEN   “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.” [1]   Oh Lord our God, we humble ourselves in Your presence and ask for You to lift us up. Father, we have sinned against You, and You have allowed this trial to come upon us so we would wake up and have our eyes opened to the wickedness in our midst. You have afflicted us; therefore, we repent with our faces to the ground. We have returned to make supplication and confess Your Holy name. And though we do not deserve Your forgiveness and cleansing, Your Word says you will hear and forgive Your servants, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk.   Lord send the refreshing and cleansing rain on our land and Your children just as You did for Is...