Don’t give up!  You will face resistance in trying to spend time with God.  The other day (day 2), I was attempting to spend time with God and the phone rang three different times, and our dog went crazy because someone came too close to our house.  It was clear that satan didn’t want me to spend quiet time with the Lord.  I persisted on this occasion but if you have missed a day, or haven’t started yet, why not start (or start again) tomorrow.  Lamentations 3:21-23 says:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Journal Entry (Anonymous)

We will be posting entries that we have requested from people that are participating in this challenge throughout these 40 days.  This is our first one from an anonymous person.  I hope it is an encouragement to you.

 Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning: Grant me so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that I may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, Amen.    (The Book of Common Prayer)

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘let us go to the house of the Lord… For there are the thrones of judgement, the thrones of the house of David.”         – Psalm 122:1,5

“Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our King” – Psalm 47:5

“Rejoice heart and soul… shout for joy … Look your King is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious”   – Zechariah 9:9

“Tell it out among the nations: ‘The Lord is King!  He has made the world so firm that it can not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.'”  – Psalm 96:10

Your throne, O God, Endures for ever and ever   – Psalm 45:1-10

Hallowed be thy name, Thy Kingdom come.  They will be done on each as it is in heaven     – The Lord’s Prayer

“You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, by going through the trial you learn to know God better.  God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.  (Conforming my will to His)    – Oswald Chambers

And He will protect me through it –

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” – Psalm 91:11

“If you had eyes to see, you would perceive a bodyguard of angels always attending every one of the blood bought family.” – C.H. Spurgeon

“I have been young and now I am old, but never have I seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread”  – Psalm 37:26

Lord, I’m fearful, I’m anxious, I’m depressed.  I’m worried about both getting a job and finding a job.  I worry equally about the smallest things like my schedule and big things like a friend’s sister in ICU.  I feel helpless at times when it comes to my marriage, my ministry, and life in general.

I know you are on the throne but as all of the readers of the Bible need to heat it, so do I (today and probably everyday).  I know you are working your will into my life and it’s hard, it feels like dying.  I feel like a failure although I’m probably just mourning the loss of my will.

I know you will protect me; I just don’t always see you working.  I have absolutely no evidence of your unfaithfulness.  You have always been faithful.  You can’t not be faithful.

I don’t know how to pray – I ask for a closer walk with You during these 40 days and I ask that it be a blessing to others.  In Jesus’ very precious name.  Amen.

Journaling: Don’t Give Up by Westchester Men’s Ministry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at https://nymensministry.com/2012/11/15/journaling-dont-give-up/.