Job 33:4

The spirit of God has made me,

    and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Breathe on me, Lord God,

and fill me with Your spirit.

We are living in, yes,

a time of lamentations,

a time of grief and sorrow

as we mourn things both lost

and stolen, time and love and

freedom ripped from our hands.

But we are also living in

a time of exodus,

as we leave the past behind,

as we acknowledge and stare down

the pain that has kept us in chains,

as we say, “NO MORE” and flee

together to the promised land,

wherever that may be,

whenever that may be.

The road will be long and hard,

twisted and barren and we will

continue to be tracked and hunted

down by a past that threatens

to pull us back to old familiar habits.

But we will walk on.

We will continue,

because we know, Lord,

that Your spirit is with us,

that You will be that pillar

of cloud leading us during the day,

and that pillar of fire, lighting

the way during the night.

We cannot see ahead

of cloud or fire, but we

don’t need to see,

we only need to follow.

Give me life today, Lord.

Fill me, fill us all with Your love

and Holy inspiration and give

us strength to walk with You

into the unknown.

Amen.