A Contemplative Time to Focus On God’s Holiness.
Lauren McCleester, our Media Arts Pastor led us in this contemplative time during our Staff Chapel on June 3. I was so impacted by how the Holy Spirit ministered to me during this time that I really wanted to share it with you. Make some time, pull up a chair for God, and rest in these beautiful truths.
Staff Chapel Tuesday June 3, 2025
Lauren McCleester
Adapted from Lectio Divina 365
PRAY
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, to love what is holy.
READ | Psalm 65:9-11
9 You visit the earth and water it
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
PAUSE AND BREATHE
READ | 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
We often fall into the trap of scarcity — believing there’s not enough time, energy, money, or attention. And most days, we feel like we have the evidence to prove it, even if it’s a lie. But Paul reminds us of a better and truer story. Everything we hoard in fear of losing eventually withers, but whatever we sow — surrendered to the grace of God’s leading — multiplies and bears fruit beyond what we can see. Nothing we give to God is wasted.
Where do you feel tempted to have a scarcity mindset in your life right now? Write your thoughts or a prayer to God.
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PRAY
Lord, free me from the lies that pull me away from confidence in you and your ability to provide. Turn my heart and mind back to your faithfulness and nurturing presence in my life.
READ 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 again, as you do, look for a particular word or phrase that the Holy Spirit seems to be highlighting to you today.
REFLECT: Take a moment to reflect now on any word or phrase that the Holy Spirit is highlighting:
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When I try to manufacture peace, purpose, and provision, I place myself where only God belongs. He is the source of all that is good in my life — the well that never runs dry, the vine that never withers. I am not required to be enough, only to remain in the One who is. Everything I need flows from him: strength for today, and grace for tomorrow.
PRAY
Father, remind me I’m not the source — you are.
Give me open hands and a willing heart.
Let my giving be full of joy, my living full of praise, and my life a testimony to your endless generosity.
