​God gets your problems. Jesus faced the same temptations we have to deal with every day, and He overcame them. He doesn’t boast about the fact that He is greater than any sin or temptation; instead, Jesus gives us the grace to overcome our own temptations and sins. 

Do you ever feel like you’re having a rough time with something and you just want someone to understand what you’re going through? Have you ever opened up to a friend and they just can’t fully sympathize with your struggles? Do you ever need help getting through a rough patch, whatever it may be?

Well even if a friend or loved one is there for you, even if you feel like you have a handle on what is going on in your life, God fully and completely understands what is going on. He does not judge or condemn your struggles, even if it is with sin and falling into temptation. He knows that you are not perfect, and He loves you. He gives you the helps you need to make it through the hard times and find peace in your heart.

Jesus knows what it feels with to face sin. He knows what it feels like to lose a loved one, to be rejected by His peers, to feel forgotten or unwanted, to be hungry and thirsty. He knows pain. Still, Jesus never sinned, never turned away from the Father, and has given us the tools to do the same. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we have the Scriptures where God speaks to us now, even though we can’t necessarily hear His voice with our ears. He still speaks to your heart. His eternal words can break through and give aid to whatever situation you are dealing with, they cut straight to the heart and bear fruit in your life wherever you allow them.

Jesus knows what it’s like to be you. He knows what you are feeling and thinking and all He wants is to love you, even if you can’t feel it. Hear what He wants to tell you as your friend, brother, Savior, and God, in whatever is you have to deal with, through reading His word and letting them guide your life. Confidently approach God in prayer with where you are and be let His word go to your heart. Listen to Him who loves you and wants to help you and follow His words to find true peace.

In what ways are you struggling right now? Invite Jesus into that difficulty and see what it is he has to say about what you're facing. 

What are the particular challenges against sin you are facing at the moment? How can God's grace help you fight that battle today?

Who are the people in your life who can be there for you? If you are looking for new  or better community, take some time to invite God into that challenge and ask him to reveal to you the community you are looking for. 

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"Fill me with your grace."

"Your word is alive."

Reach out today to a friend / mentor / family member who leads you closer to Jesus and set up a time to get together with them and seek the true friendship they offer.

​They say that “an elephant never forgets.” But I do forget, a lot!

Today’s psalm response is “Do not forget the works of the Lord.”

When I’m having a frustrating day, I forget how patient the Lord is with me.

When I’m upset because something else is going wrong, I forget how good the Lord is to me.

When a family member is suffering, I forget about all of the times the Lord has healed in the past.

When I can’t figure something out, I forget all of the things the Lord has taught me.

I am always forgetting the works of the Lord.

So why is it important to “remember the works of the Lord”? It’s important because we will always experience suffering in the world. We will always have unanswered prayers. We will always desire to be closer than we are to the Lord. We will always have frustrating, angry, impatient moments in our lives.

There will always be times of trial, so we need to remember what the Lord has done to ensure that we continue to turn to Him in times of need.

We need to remember the times on the mountaintop when we’re sitting in the valley. We need to remember the joy we’ve experienced in the midst of sorrow. We need to remember His hope in the midst of our despair.

Remember the works of the Lord. Remember the goodness of God. Remember the glory of the His Resurrection. Remember the feeling of His Spirit in your soul. Remember.

What have you forgotten that the Lord has done for you?

Where can you be more aware in your life of the goodness of the Lord?

How can you share with others the glory of the Lord?

"I remember your works O Lord."

"I praise you Jesus for all you've done for me."

​"I love you Lord."

Write down the good things the Lord has done for you today, this week, this month, this whole year! Create a physical reminder for yourself so you don't forget the good works of the Lord!

I am in a constant battle with myself while I pray. Maybe it’s due to pride, or lack of faith. Either way, I am not really sure. What I do know is that when I pray, my heart and my head are at war with each other. My head knows the power of God, it knows that God has the ability to answer my prayers, and to do so abundantly. However, my heart knows all those things, but struggles to truly grasp them in the way my head does. My heart says “God, I know you can, but…” and that “but” is the doubt, usually caused by over thinking things or feeling undeserving of whatever it is I am praying for. I know that this may not be something you struggle with, but maybe you do know exactly what I am talking about. Regardless, it can be really hard to humble yourself and just let God love you.

In today’s Gospel, we see a man who humbly seeks the Lord with great faith and just let’s Christ love him. I think what is most striking about the leper in this story is what he says to Christ. He says, “If you wish, you can make me clean”. It is just so simple, so exact, so precise, and so real. The leper, with great faith and humility, is leaving this in Christ’s hands. He knows in his mind Christ has the power to heal him, and he also knows in his heart that Christ can do it. He asks Christ to heal him and when he does ask, he is effectively saying to Christ “let your will be done.” For us, this is really the greatest prayer we could pray and that is why Christ gave it to us in the Lord’s Prayer. We can see the power of this prayer’s humble petition here with the leper, and we too can experience that same power of Christ in our lives. 

What troubles you while you are praying? What struggles do you need the Lord's help to overcome to enter into prayer like the Leper does?

Do you confidently approach God with humility and trust? Are you really giving your life and petitions to Christ? Why?

In what ways would you like to grow in your relationship with Christ, in your confidence and trust in him, through prayer?

"Your will be done."

"Make me clean."

"I trust in you."

Today, pray the Our Father very intentionally. Pray it more than once and really focus on the words you are saying. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in a greater understanding of this prayer and your relationship with God. As you pray the words that Jesus taught us, let your heart be open to the Father as you approach Him with loving boldness. 

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

How well do you handle being exhausted? Are you the kind of person who shuts down and becomes essentially useless until you can take time by yourself and recuperate? Or are you someone who can ride out exhaustion for a long time and maintain being kind and generous in the midst of your tiredness? I can say that for I am definitely more prone to be the one who shuts down until I can recuperate. 

Today’s Gospel has many different areas that one could dive into, but I have to admit that what stuck out to me was exhaustion. Jesus, right after he leaves the synagogue after a day of teaching, is brought to Simon’s house, presumably to take a break. It’s a long day of work to go into a synagogue and teach, defend, and interact with people. But, instead of getting a break, he ends up going straight back to work by healing Simon’s mother-in-law. Now, since I’m not divine and have never performed a miracle, I have no way of knowing if that would be tiresome or not, but I can’t imagine it feels the same as taking a quick power nap. But Jesus isn’t done - he keeps working!. We read that it was evening, “after sunset”, (which in the ancient Near East is basically the equivalent of after about 11pm in our world) when Jesus ends up having ALL who were ill or possessed brought to him. Think about how tired he must have been! A full day’s work of preaching, healing, exorcising demons, and at the end of the day, right in the heart of night, the WHOLE TOWN was gathered at his door. I would be grouchy, grumpy, and probably a bit rude at that point.

The work Jesus did in his earthly ministry was tough, hard work. It’s easy to view the Gospels as simple stories about Jesus without really looking at them critically so as to understand. Jesus did so much in the day recounted in the Gospel today. Not only that, he rose the next day, “very early before dawn”, to go off and pray. I think this is the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus is clearly burning the candle at both ends here - late nights and early mornings. I, for one, am utterly incapable of waking up early after being up late, so the fact that Jesus not only does so, but wakes up to go have quiet time alone in prayer, is something that is really remarkable. 

Jesus reveals something very important about prayer to us. Prayer is not just an obligation, ordinance, or opportunity for us as Christians - it really is our life-blood. That Jesus would go and pray after such a huge day- a day of performing miracles, healing, and teaching- shows us that prayer is the one truly necessary thing. I mean, if I were God and could heal and perform miracles, I don’t think I’d feel the need to wake up early and go pray. However, if Jesus sees it as necessary, I think I should too. If ever we need be refreshed in times of tiredness, exhaustion, or anxiety, we should take the example of Jesus and turn to prayer.

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.
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How do I respond to busyness and exhaustion? 

What role does prayer play in the busyness and work of my day to day life?

What changes do I need to make in order to make prayer more of a priority in my day?

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.
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"Lord, I need you."

"Lord, let me rest in you."

"Holy Spirit, refresh my heart."

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?
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In the midst of all the things you have going on today, take a few minutes to plan out time this week where you can sit down, pray, and rest in the Lord.