Jo Bower's Blog

Keep Me From Lying to Myself

I’m a cautious optimist.
I acknowledge when things are bad
But somehow find a way to find the positive side
Of any situation.

I like the lightness of heart that comes with things going well.
When God is in his heaven, and all’s right with the world.
And when it’s like that,
I don’t go looking for what’s wrong with the world.

These times are too few and precious
To ruin them by dwelling of what’s about to happen next.
Tomorrow will come,
And the cruel world will crash in soon enough.

Keep me, God from seeing only one side of life
To preserve the way I want things to be.
Help me accept things the way they are
Without hyper-criticism, over-worry, or dogmatic denial of truth I don’t want to face.

Help me refrain from assigning agendas or political motives
To everyone I know or observe;
For I have no way to judge anything but their actions.
And it only turns me into a cynic.

God, help me realize it’s not my job to make sure
Everything goes according to my vision, however good it may be.
The vision is something you have given me is to enhance my life,
Not be imposed on everyone around me.

Granted, it helps me mold my world,
It helps me find ways to share what you have given me,
And have a positive influence on the community and world.
But help me do that without demanding everyone see things just like I do.

Give me grace when my ideas collide with those with different visions,
And feel as strongly as I do about mine.
Help me realize occasionally I might be the one who has wandered off the path
And perhaps need to make some corrections.

God, help me not to lie to myself.
I have chosen to be honored by the gifts and life you have given me.
Help cling to faithfulness without becoming rigid and inflexible,
Unable to recognize when I refuse to see the whole picture or whole truth.

Forgive me when I insist on lying to myself
To preserve the way I want to see things.
We all sometimes get stubborn when things around us have changed so much
The ideas we hold dear no longer apply.

Help me quit comparing what happens today
With the way things were yesterday
Without scorning or denying the positive place it has in our lives.
Help me see today for what it is.

Don’t let me make everything I don’t like about changing culture suspect,
Having no good in them, spending my energy and influence spewing
Against things I don’t understand.
Yet help me see clearly the real dangers that pull us away from You.

But help me find the place where truth holds steady.
The essentials of salvation and faith, Your word, Your love,
Your essence and presence and my humble response need to remain solid
While confronting the shifting sands of life around me.

Life is big and complicated, ideologies demand we take sides, constantly assigning us to categories.
People have deliberately chosen to base their lives on the idea God is not real;
Spending their vision proving no one needs God while making deities of their own thought.
Yet they can’t figure out why relationships don’t last, and their emotional lives are in shambles.

God, don’t let me lie to myself for the luxury of comfort.
Help me seek your wisdom, truth, guidance and word.
Then give me the courage to face the world as it is,
Yet never losing sight of what You can help me change and improve and influence.

Psalm 119: 29-30
Keep me from lying to myself:
Give me the privilege of knowing your instructions:
I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations.
(English Standard Version)