The other day I wrote about intentionally giving thanks to God in all circumstances. Today, I feel He has challenged me to do just that as well as to pray for those who persecute me. I feel like I have had one beating after another today. Ever feel that way? It didn't just rain, and it didn't just pour, it sleeted, it stormed, it pummeled hail the size of golf balls. That's the kind of day I have had. That's the kind of challenge God has set before me. Will I still give thanks? Yes, absolutely, 100 percent. He still hangs on to me, even if I have lost my grip.
Not only will I get down on my knees tonight and give thanks, but I will also pray for those who persecuted, hurt, or upset me today. Matthew 5:44-45 says, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." See, it rains on both the righteous and the unrighteous. I, at least, know that when it does rain, like today, my heavenly Father is there to hold me up under the weight of it, otherwise I would drown. To live intentionally for the Lord, I need to pray for those who persecute me because they, too, need to know that God, the Father, is holding them up.
Yes, today was one storm after another, but God is my anchor, my Rock, my refuge. I will not let the storms of today change my course of intentional living. Tomorrow the sun will rise, and my King will set before me a new horizon. I go forth in trust.
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