Today's Reflection

STORIES HOLD MYSTERY and meaning together, and, therefore, they hold the power to put us in touch with the Divine, perhaps even removing the negative stories we have heard about ourselves and replacing them with stories of hope and courage. They help us move beyond our fears and fantasies and remind us of the presence of the Divine within and around us.

—Michael E. Williams, Spoken into Being: Divine Encounters Through Story (Upper Room Books, 2017)

Today's Question

How might your story change if you remembered the Divine presence within and around you?  

Today's Scripture

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

I love to tell the story
For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
To hear it like the rest.

From "I Love to Tell the Story" by
Katherine Hankey, The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 156

Submit your prayer to The Upper Room or share it in the comment section.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• • Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
  • Psalm 32:1-7
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
  • Luke 19:1-10

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

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