Friend of Dial Hope, do you sometimes feel like your problems are so overwhelming that you can barely keep your head above water? In the Bible, God tells you to cast “all your care upon him,” knowing he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

One of the most dramatic examples in the Bible of casting yourself upon God is Peter’s attempt to walk on water. It was liquid pavement beneath his feet. When Jesus bid Peter to come to him, Peter quickly stepped out of the boat and, with his eyes on the Lord, he began to walk. But then he looked around at the heavy seas. Terrified, he began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Immediately, Jesus was beside Peter. And, arm in arm, they walked on the water to the boat. Like Peter, if you get your eyes off your source and onto your impossible situation, you’re sunk. But, if you keep your eyes on Jesus and walk arm in arm with him, you’ll be safe…because Jesus specializes in meeting human needs. Whatever is over your head in the way of problems is already under his feet. It’s in his control! Remember: “Cast all your anxiety, your care on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Let us pray: God of love, who came into the world clothed in our garment of flesh and who willingly gave yourself to the cross, clothe us in your Spirit that persons will recognize you in us and receive your great gift of unconditional love and amazing grace. We remember today and this week the men and women serving our country in Afghanistan and Iraq. Surround them with your presence and give them Christ-confidence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 32 reads a little like a before and after commercial. You know the kind, “Before I got the Ginsu super cutter knife, my culinary life was a virtual disaster, but now…!” Only the genuineness of this Psalm is undeniable. It is attributed to King David and it deals with the power of confession and forgiveness. If anyone would know about missing the mark and the need for confession and forgiveness, it would be David.

In verse three, the Psalm claims, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away… my strength was sapped…” But, then in verse 5, it continues, “Then, I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgression to the Lord.’ And you forgave…”

The Psalm ends with rejoicing.

The truth is, when we hold on to our sins when we fail to acknowledge where we have missed the mark, our mistakes only eat us up inside. There is no way to heal. On the other hand, naming our sin breaks the power of it. Without a doubt, it is the first step toward healing.

Today, find a place to sit quietly before God and make your confession. And, remember that in Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven. Later in the Psalm, we are given this promise, “the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds those who trust in him.”

Let us pray: God we’ve messed up, we’re human, we’re flesh and blood, and we’ve made mistakes – sometimes over and over. We need you to wash over us with your grace, cleanse us, and help us move on, leave behind the old, and to start over differently. Help us today to name our brokenness, so the healing can begin. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

A pastor was trying to explain to a Sunday school class that God is all around us. “God is everywhere!” said the pastor. “Everywhere?” asked one little boy. “Everywhere!” answered the pastor.

The boy went home and told his mother, “God is everywhere! The pastor said so.” “Yes, I know,” replied the mother. The little boy continued, ”You mean he is even in the cupboard?” “Yes,” said the mother. “In the refrigerator, even when we close the door and the light goes out?” “Yes,” said the mother. “Even in the sugar bowl?” the boy asked as he took the lid off. “Yes,” said the mother, “even in the sugar bowl.” The boy slammed the lid down and said, “Now I’ve got him.”

The story is funny, but the truth is God is bigger than even we can ever imagine.

In the book of 1 Kings at the dedication of the first temple, we read that the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to minister… At that time, Solomon prayed, “Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you – much less this house that I have built!”

There is a recognition very early on in our faith that God is at work beyond the walls of the sanctuary – beyond our denominations – beyond our understanding, beyond our grasp. You cannot contain the Lord we worship. God is bigger than we can even begin to imagine.

Sometimes I want to have all the answers. I want to know why people see the world differently than I do. I want to know why there are poverty and violence. I want to know why people I love suffer. I want to know how and when God will answer my prayers.

Being human, we have to ask the questions. We have to seek to understand. But, being human also means that there may be things that we will never understand – at least not on this side of heaven.

And so here and now, with great humility, we have to trust. We have to trust that God is as good as Jesus told us that he is – merciful, forgiving, loving – with grace extending far beyond what we ever could imagine.

Let us pray: Almighty God, you are holy and majestic. We thank you for your unstoppable, uncontainable love – that reaches out and embraces even us. With all of our strength, in all of our weaknesses, with all of our faith and in all of our doubts, help us to respond to you. Amen.

You may remember that in 1953 Edmund Hillary was the very first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. What you may not know is that he had a partner in his success. His name was Tenzing Norgay. Not only did Tenzing climb the mountain with him but on the way back down the mountain, Hillary fell and was almost lost. In fact, he would have been lost except that Tenzing Norgay pulled him back up the cable and saved his life. Edmund Hillary lived to tell a great story only because of this help from an unknown man. Much later, someone asked Norgay why he didn’t make more of it, why he didn’t boast about his role in this great feat, he said, “We mountain climbers help each other.”

I admire the humility and the servant-like quality of the man.

As the pastor of a church, I see this same attitude in the people whom I serve all the time. There are women and men who regularly work hard behind the scenes to help others: leading Bible studies for children, singing in a choir, cleaning up the property of the church, feeding the hungry in their neighborhoods, building houses for the working poor. These are my heroes. They put in countless hours, get very little or no credit, and they do it simply because “We Christians help others. That’s who we are.”

Let us pray: God of Hope, I thank you for my real-life heroes; for all those who give deeply of themselves, not for power or glory or honor -but simply because they love you. Grant each of us today a Christ-like attitude. We pray in his name. Amen.