Praise be to you, Lord God, for your kind and consistent, detailed and direct involvement in our lives.

I exalt you, Lord, for how you are so persistent in pouring pardon into our lives, giving us the opposite of what we deserve.

Thank you for your patience with us as we zigzag along, bouncing between arrogant rebellion and abject self-pity. We so quickly forget the most basic spiritual truths,

we are so prone to spiritual amnesia!

–that we deserve only condemnation and rejection, but you constantly give us the opposite;

–that we can do nothing without you;

–that you are our Shepherd so we will not lack anything necessary;

–that we can offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving instead of complaining;

–that we can keep on your full armor and effectively fight the devil rather than people.

But in spite of our forgetfulness, you do not give up on us, Lord Jesus. You are gracefully, lovingly consistent in correcting, reminding, protecting and, when necessary, rebuking us. As it says in Hebrews 12, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Help us, Lord, to “not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes” us, but to remember that the “Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his” child.

And that, in spite of the pain involved,  it “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Not for those who experience it, but those who learn from it.

Help us to consistently learn, Lord, that we may mature and honor you.