Jesus, we thank You for making us part of Your body, the Church, the family of God. We thank You for binding us together through the Spirit in the communion of saints. We thank You for our brothers and sisters here at Peace Church.
And if our only connection to Peace Church was through Your Spirit, if we were never able to interact personally with the rest of the members of our church family…
It would be enough.
And if we were able to connect only once in a while, through notes and visits, through online worship, and the rest of the time we connected through prayer, in Your Spirit…
It would be enough.
And if we were able to be together in person with the church family, but our family didn’t always act like the body of Christ in the world, still, if You remind us and assure us that You are the head of the Church, that You gave Yourself up to make us holy…
It would be enough.
And if our church acted like the Body of Christ, but we remember with sadness the church of our childhood, when churches were full of young families with children, and worship was a normal part of life for most people... if we mourn the past but we can see the future, that Your Church is immortal, it cannot die…if the life of the church comes from You and not from the people who make up the church…
It would be enough.
And if the church sometimes look small and weak, if it feels like our church family is growing older and smaller, but we know that when we are weak then You are strong, that we are enough because You are enough. You are the light of the world, which makes us the light of the world …
And that’s enough.
Father, our Father, our holy, heavenly Father, we want to be holy, like You are holy. We wish that we were already home with You in heaven, where there is no more temptation, where it is impossible to sin.
But if we can’t yet be completely free from the power of sin, but You would always provide a way out of temptation…
It would be enough
And if we couldn’t see that way out, but we knew that You led us away from temptation…if we could know that You deliver us from evil…
It would be enough
And if we saw the way out of temptation, but we fell, we failed, we give in to temptation…if the grace You show us when we sin makes us more grateful and devoted to obeying you...
It would be enough
And if we resisted temptation, but the pressure didn't let up ....and if being tempted meant that we would embrace our weakness, boast in our weakness, celebrate our weakness when facing temptation knowing that Your power is made perfect in our weakness…
It would be enough
And if being tempted sends me running back to You , and if You lead me out of temptation, and You transform me through temptation, and You heal me when I fall, and if all of this is part of Your plan to make me more like Jesus…
It would all be enough
Father, we thank You for Your strength, made perfect in weakness. And even if all I have is Your strength, if my body and my mind and my soul are exhausted
It would be enough.
And if my faith was strong, but my body was fragile, just a shell of the physical strength I once enjoyed...
It would be enough.
And if my faith was strong, and my body was healthy, but tears flowed for no reason, or I simmered in anxiety, or my thoughts were dark and empty, or my feelings were flat, still...
It would be enough.
If my mind and body and soul felt strong, if I was wealthy and healthy and energetic, but I knew that none of that mattered...
It would be enough
Because when I’m weak, that’s when You are strong. I embrace my weakness. I boast in my weakness. I delight in weaknesses! You have placed Your treasure in this fragile jar of clay....
And that’s enough
Father, You are the Giver of all good things. You love to give good and perfect gifts. But even if we don’t perceive them as good...
It would be enough.
And if we perceived Your gifts as good, but we could enjoy them for only a very short time...
It would be enough.
And if we could enjoy Your gifts for most of our lives, but we lived on earth for only a very short time...
It would be enough.
And if we lived long in the land that You, the Lord our God, gave us, but the gifts You gave were few and far between...
It would be enough.
And if the only gift You ever gave us was Your Son, Your only Son, who died and rose again for us...
That would be enough, far more than enough. Because You are good, all the time. All the time, You are good!
Holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we thank You for the life that You have given to us. We thank You for our existence, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually....
Lord, if you had just given me a body, but not a body that was whole and healthy...
It would have been enough
If you had given me physical health, but my mind was confused and dark...
It would have been enough...
If my mind was clear and strong, but my emotions were fearful, fragile...
It would have been enough
If my emotions were bright and stable, but my faith was small and weak...
It would have been enough
If my faith was strong enough to move mountains, but my body, mind, and emotions barely make it through the day...
It would have been enough. You created me, just as I am. It's enough
Holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all the days ordained for me were written Your book before one of them came to be. And if You knew what to expect at the beginning of each of those days, while each day for me was filled with questions and uncertainty...
It would be enough.
And if You ordained my days, but my days on earth were short...
It would be enough
And if You ordained my days to be long, but they were filled with difficulty, sorrow, and turmoil...
It would be enough
And if you ordained my days to be long and prosperous in the land that You, Lord God, have given to me, and my life flew by in the blink of an eye...
It would be enough.
And if all my days were but an overture to an eternity of gazing on Your beautiful face...
It would be more, far more, than I deserve. For my days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Father, You are the giver of all good gifts. You love to give good gifts to Your children and every good and perfect gift is from above. But we don’t always recognize Your gifts as good, and we often want more, and still more, of Your good gifts.
So, if it seems to us that we don't have enough of your good gifts, but if You point to the sparrows of the air and the lilies of the field and You reassure us that we are much more valuable than they are, that You provide everything we need for body and soul…
It would be enough
If You gave us good gifts, but only enough so that we wouldn’t dishonor You (Proverbs 30:9)…
It would be enough
If You gave us many good gifts, but only enough so that we wouldn't forget You and disown You (Proverbs 30:9)
It would be enough
If You blessed us with great wealth, but only to remind us of our mortality (James 1:10)…
It would be enough
And if You gave us the ability to be content in every situation, whether well fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want, if You gave us the gift of contentment whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:12) …
It would be enough