Lord, we live through sunny days and cloudy days. We live through the winter and we live through the springtime. Sometimes, life comes at us like a soothing breeze, and sometimes it comes at us like a great thunderstorm. Sometimes there is joy and happiness, and sometimes there is trouble and sadness. It is wonderful to see the new baby come into the home of covenant parents. It is a blessing to watch the young children grow into adulthood and love the God that we love with the passion with which we love You. Yet, life can be tragic. Sometimes the young die early and the elderly suffer for many years. Sometimes our children stray from the faith and our hearts our broken. Sometimes life is snuffed out from us in a second. Sometimes, those living in pain live on and on for what seems like an eternity.

Lord, we do not know our future, whether it will be full of blessings or ills. We do not know how long we shall live and what we must yet suffer in the days ahead of us. It is good that we do not know. It is good that such things are hidden from us. It is good that our knowledge is limited. It is good that we live by faith.

Lord, our lives are full of troubles as the sparks fly upward. Rest seems to flee from us. Contentment seems difficult to hold inside of us. Disappointment is part of our lot in this world. Confusion can weigh heavy upon us. Lord, it is not always an unwillingness to obey on our part. Sometimes, we just do not know what to do. Sometimes the road seems unclear and the choices seem so numerous. Lord, open and close doors so that we know what to do and in what direction we should move. And when we are unsure, give us faith to wait. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Give us perseverance. Give us endurance. Make us brave. Give us courage. But Lord, do not afflict us with the strain of waiting too long.

Our bodies are frail and our spirits do faint. The spirit of a man can endure sickness, but as for a broken spirit who can bear it. Hear the prayers of Your people. Be gracious unto us or we shall waste away in discouragement.

Put a song in our mouths and put a hymn of praise on our lips. Let us remember that none of us have suffered as Jesus suffered. None of us have known the rejection that He knew. He suffered the pangs of hell itself. Whatever our lot in this life, it is not long until we find those whose lot is much worse. Help us to count our blessings day by day. Help us to see the marvelous wonders before our eyes. Help us to see that our ultimate goal in life is to glorify Christ in all things, whether it be in our joy or in our sickness, whether it be in our success or our failure, whether it be in songs of joy or tears of sadness.

Lord, as we study the Revelation of the Apostle John, we are reminded that You are holy. The Lord takes vengeance on His enemies. Lord, when You become angry, the plagues come upon us. The sun becomes dark and the moon turns into blood. Men seek to hide in the caves for fear of the Lord. Men seek death but cannot find it. They long to die, but death flees from them. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who can stand before Him in all His power and might?

O Lord, we come before Thee this morning to make peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to be Your friend and not Your enemy. At the cross, Jesus settled the issues between us. At the cross, Jesus satisfied the wrath of God and He himself endured all of Your anger against us. Now we wear white robes that have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Now, we are the sons of God. Lord, we are on Your side. More importantly, You are on our side.