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Read our new guide to Song of Solomon! Comment “love” to get your free download.

Life’s gotta way of piling up sometimes. Emails accumulate in your inbox. Assignments and deadlines stack against you. And the family crisis escalates at the exact moment you step away for a break. You try to carry it all, going on as if nothing is wrong, like you have unlimited capacity to handle it.

Sometimes it feels like nobody sees you, or understands why you’re so tired. You can’t let them know ‘cause you can’t let them down. So you tell yourself to be stronger, instead of being honest.

But, you want someone to you, weaknesses and all, and love you anyway. Maybe even help carry the load.

Psalm 103 tells us that God knows exactly what we are: dust. He sees us like flowers, fragile and easily blown down. Still, he compassionately lavishes us with his everlasting love. He understands our limits because he created us with them– for our own good!

He can carry the load.

Psalm 103:13-14
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him.

Observations from the Text
God is a compassionate father (v. 13)
He understands our limits (v. 14)
God knows how we’re made and what we’re made of (v. 14)
Our struggles are temporary, but his love is eternal (v. 15-17)

Prayers of Response
Compassionate Father, thank you for seeing me and loving me as I am.
You created me with limits, and you called your creation good. Thank you for my limit of ______ that reminds me of your love.

Prayer Requests
Help me to lean into your love when I worry about ______ and know that you’re enough for me.
Loving Creator, show ______ the beauty in their weakness, and how you meet them in it.

Prayers of Readiness
I walk forward into ______ knowing that you see me and you love me, no matter what I can or can’t do.
Your compassion will sustain me through _______.

Sometimes, it happens all of a sudden—it feels like a bolt of lightning, a shock to your system. Other times, you didn’t even realize (or maybe, you just didn’t want to admit) that it was developing under the surface. All the time spent together, the inside jokes, moments of vulnerability…you look into their eyes one day and realize you’re in love.

One of the reasons it’s so fun to hear stories of falling in love is because there are so many different beginnings: from meet-cutes at hotdog shops, dating apps, or blind set-ups from your coworkers, or reconnecting with an old friend…you never know when you’re going to meet that someone whose acquaintance will blossom into deep affection and closeness. And even though falling in love is only the beginning of what may develop into a more mature relationship, we hope you never lose the wonder of those first moments—the sparks of curiosity, the shared laughter, the unexpected connection. Those beginnings serve as a beautiful foundation for the journey ahead.

So, whether you’re falling in love, or reflecting on when you first met your special someone…here’s a prayer and scripture to reflect on for falling in love.

𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
“How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
    my love, with your delights!” (Song of Solomon 7:6).

𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞
God, you are love, and your love is great, it created the world and everything in it. Your deep affection for your people is so vast, you’ve made a way for me to live with you forever. I’m so thankful and excited for this opportunity to experience a glimmer of how beautiful love can be. Help this new relationship teach me how to become more patient and kind– how to be more selfless and understanding. Wherever this love leads, may our growing relationship be honoring to you and to one another. Amen.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡, 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧! 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 “𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞” 𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞!

Most of us don’t think twice about how we end the day.
 
We just do whatever helps us get through it: scrolling, watching something, trying to get one last thing done.
 
But over time, those small choices start to form something. The way you end your day doesn’t just end your day; it carries into the next one. If your nights feel restless, distracted, or heavy, it might not be random. It might be how you’ve unintentionally formed your evening routine.
 
There’s actually a long history of Christians ending their day with intention by letting go of what didn’t get done, naming what they’re carrying, and entrusting themselves to God before sleep.
 
If you’ve never thought about your nighttime rhythm this way, it might be worth asking: What is shaping me at the end of my day right now?
 
And is it actually giving me rest?
 
(We wrote more about this, and a simple way to begin, in the link in bio.)

You can’t work from a store of energy that you don’t have.
  
You’re tired. So, so tired. It’s the kind of deep-seated exhaustion that only sets in after burning at both ends for so many days, weeks, months in a row.
  
And despite your best attempt to clear space in your schedule and get enough sleep at night, you can’t seem to shake the exhaustion. 😩 
  
It’s okay. Take a deep breath, tired friend. You don’t have to will yourself into working from a store of energy that you don’t have. But you do have an invitation—an open door to come to God, your refuge, and to find rest in him.
   
If you need some help finding the words, check out the prayer we wrote for when we’re just plain exhausted:
 
𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart” (Psalm 91:1-4).
 
𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Lord, my refuge, you renew my strength, and I can find rest under the shadow of your wings. Grant me grace for the rest of my day, and give me the gift of deep sleep tonight. Tomorrow, help me wake up in your new mercies, and to focus on loving and serving you and others. And help me to trust that you’ll keep giving me enough strength, one day at a time. Amen.
 
If you need a change in routine at night to help with your exhaustion, we have something we think could help! Comment “night” to get a link to Our Daily Bread Ministries’ Evening Meditations!