I love You, Lord; You are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress, I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry to Him reached His ears…He reached down from heaven and rescued me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me. The Lord rewarded me for doing right; He restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. [Psalm 18:1-6 and 16-21, NLT]
Holy Spirit Your word says to be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love. [1 Corinthians 16:13&14, CSB] Help me to follow this advice, and as David mentioned earlier help me to do what is right and keep Your ways. Let what I speak, how I renew my mind, what I pay attention to, be acceptable to You so that I can stand before You a child of Yours who You can be proud of and know that I have done all I can to live my life to fulfill the purpose and hope that I was uniquely made for.
“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for Your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because I come to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound. Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen. [Philippians 1:21-27]