A Prayer for Lifted Spirits When Your World Is Changing
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. – Psalm 16:11
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With one swift click of a mouse, my application was submitted. And my heart and shoulders sank. I didn’t want a new job. I’d grown pretty darn comfortable with my current life. Opening myself up to a position under someone else’s rule and reign left me super vulnerable to too much change. An uncertain future that felt much less in my control. It seemed to mean giving up my life for something that definitely didn’t appear as desirable. But after much processing and prayer, I believed this was where the Lord was leading. And he had always been faithful in my life, and throughout the lives of the heroes of the faith I’d been admiring and learning from for decades, so I trusted his guidance and took the leap. The only issue was this: it was really hard, and it hurt.
How about you? Have you experienced, or are you facing right now, some uncertain life changes? Are you dealing with feelings of fear, discontentment, or discomfort through it, like I am?
In Psalm 16:11, after the psalmist declares that God makes known the path of life, just as he directed me down my specific path, he declares that the Lord fills us with joy. Joy. I could use some of that. You? And where does he say the joy is found? In God‘s presence. Well, you and I both know that God is always present, so why don’t we always feel joy? I believe it has a lot to do with us not always acknowledging his presence and not noticing, or failing to focus on, where he is showing up around us. For me, and maybe you too, we tend to gravitate our thoughts toward our problems instead of fixing our eyes on him. Looking, seeking, and searching hard for his blessings.
The verse finishes with a magnification of what that joy looks like as we become more aware of God, calling it “eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Pleasures. The very things we think we are going to miss or forfeit as we follow new paths and walk into life change. I hope it encourages you to know that wherever God is present—everywhere—joy, blessings, and pleasures will also be. We just need to keep our gaze his way.
Look around where you are right now. Can you see them? His blessings? Keep looking. They are there right now, my friend. And they will follow you through every single season and change you continue to encounter.
Let’s pray:
Lord of Hope, You offer such joy in your presence. Eternal pleasures—too many to count. Oh, how I want to seek, find, and focus on them. But too often, I get so consumed with what’s changing—with the comforts I’ve held too tightly too—that I lose sight of you, and allow my spirits to sulk and my outlook to dim. You know how hard change can be for me. You know and see my heart. And it grieves you when I become disheartened. But you are more present than ever, offering continual comfort and compassion. Help me to rest in your love and find joy in your very presence as I acknowledge you. And acknowledge all you’ve done, all you’re doing, and all you’re pouring out in great love with ceaseless generosity. Help me find joy as I keep my eyes on you. Lord, thank you for your uplifting presence that never leaves. In your ever-present name, Amen.
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Related Resource: Jesus Calling – Stories of Faith
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