Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
~ St Patrick’s Breastplate
(translation of a Gaelic poem by Cecil F. Alexander)
The sun rises slowly over the hill behind our home. Its an early morning before church. The mist rises steadily from the ground in the darkness pierced with the dawning of the morning. Such a quiet calm morning compared with the tempest of storm, wind, and downpour of hailstones the night before. The beauty after the chaos. The calm after the tempest. The rainbows in the evening, and the dawning of a new day. There are promises all around us.
I’m reminded of a poem, a prayer really. A prayer that was given, many years ago, many miles away in a far off village on the Ayrshire Coast of Scotland by an old friend and missionary. She gave this poem to me and it was exactly the words my heart needed to meditate on day and night. In these words, my heart was focused not on the things of earth, but on the One who had come. My heart was turned to the reality of the Living One, the Light of the World, the Messiah, Rescuer, the Lamb of God who is truly there. When I remember that I can be totally present with Him throughout every moment of my day, my struggles turn into rest, my fears are washed away in waves upon waves of grace. My anchor is Christ and in the perceiving of truth that Christ is everything to me, indeed He is eternal life, He gives an inexpressible joy. When my mind is overwhelmed, I only need One. Christ is my stability. Christ is my security. Christ is my rock I stand upon.
Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Psalm 61:1-5
May this meditation bring truth and peace to your soul today and may the reality of His presence in your life anchor you… in Christ.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8