Daily Word of Grace: May 18, 2020
In “An Order for Compline”, a beautiful brief liturgy for prayer found in The Book of Common Prayer and intended for use at the end of the day, there is powerful prayer for grace in times of uncertainty: “Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (133). All of us have certainly been dealing lately with many unforeseen and challenging “changes and chances of this life”, and yet by God’s grace we can still rest in God’s “eternal changelessness.” Scripture assures us that through what we may call the “changes and chances of this life” God remains unchanging in love, grace, and presence. We worship a God “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17), a God who “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), a God who with us everywhere and always-“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Finally, even when stressful external and internal circumstances connected with the “changes and chances of this life” cause deep internal and external unrest, God’s invitation to all of us still remains, “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Love and Prayers,
Dave