Some things in life we must do. If we want to stay alive in our bodies, we have to eat. If we wish to keep living in these bodies, we have to keep breathing.
We also are presented with matters of choice. We make choices about mundane matters. For those of us living in the first world, the vast majority of us make choices everyday about what we eat and drink.
However, many homeless people in the first world often cannot eat whatever they like. Additionally, very often in the first world we have choices which others elsewhere in the world do not have as luxuries. For many people living in the third world, often they do not get to choose what to eat; they eat what they can get, if they get anything at all. For some, they cannot even choose to eat, dying because they have not gotten enough to eat.
Sometimes we are able to choose in which jobs we work. However, even in the first world, when the economy is poor, we can only work in jobs which seem less than ideal to us.
Especially for those of us in the first world, usually we evaluate choices in life in terms of whether or not we want to do something. If we want to do something, we do it. If we don't want to do something, we don't do it.
However, what if God wants us to do something which we don't want to do? We can, and indeed should, pray to God to give us the grace and the strength to weather the storms and trials we must face, which we cannot avoid.
However, what if we could avoid tribulation? Understandably, we often want to escape it. In such situations, what if we suspect that God wants us to undergo such trying circumstances? Sometimes God tests us. He wants us to show Him what is reflected in the absolute deepest recesses of our hearts. In our most private, secret corners of our souls, do we wish to do God's will and submit to God, even if we have another, less painful option available to us?
Under conditions in which we are presented with such formidable circumstances, which we could choose to avoid, but which we suspect God wants us to endure, we are being tested. Do we truly want what God wants, or do we want only what we want?
When confronted with the avoidable suffering to which God invites us, we can wisely choose to turn to Him. We can become more than we have been: we can transcend our own narrow, short-sighted desires and plans. Such a choice requires courage, yet such bravery is well-placed, since it reflects faith in God, who loves us infinitely, more than we can know and understand in this lifetime. To trust in this way, one must think, pray, speak and act out of humility. A humble, contrite heart, O Lord, you will not spurn.*
Pray that your desire be conformed to God's will. Pray that He transform what you want, so that it becomes what He wants. Amen.
* Psalm 51:19.
We also are presented with matters of choice. We make choices about mundane matters. For those of us living in the first world, the vast majority of us make choices everyday about what we eat and drink.
However, many homeless people in the first world often cannot eat whatever they like. Additionally, very often in the first world we have choices which others elsewhere in the world do not have as luxuries. For many people living in the third world, often they do not get to choose what to eat; they eat what they can get, if they get anything at all. For some, they cannot even choose to eat, dying because they have not gotten enough to eat.
Sometimes we are able to choose in which jobs we work. However, even in the first world, when the economy is poor, we can only work in jobs which seem less than ideal to us.
Especially for those of us in the first world, usually we evaluate choices in life in terms of whether or not we want to do something. If we want to do something, we do it. If we don't want to do something, we don't do it.
However, what if God wants us to do something which we don't want to do? We can, and indeed should, pray to God to give us the grace and the strength to weather the storms and trials we must face, which we cannot avoid.
However, what if we could avoid tribulation? Understandably, we often want to escape it. In such situations, what if we suspect that God wants us to undergo such trying circumstances? Sometimes God tests us. He wants us to show Him what is reflected in the absolute deepest recesses of our hearts. In our most private, secret corners of our souls, do we wish to do God's will and submit to God, even if we have another, less painful option available to us?
Under conditions in which we are presented with such formidable circumstances, which we could choose to avoid, but which we suspect God wants us to endure, we are being tested. Do we truly want what God wants, or do we want only what we want?
When confronted with the avoidable suffering to which God invites us, we can wisely choose to turn to Him. We can become more than we have been: we can transcend our own narrow, short-sighted desires and plans. Such a choice requires courage, yet such bravery is well-placed, since it reflects faith in God, who loves us infinitely, more than we can know and understand in this lifetime. To trust in this way, one must think, pray, speak and act out of humility. A humble, contrite heart, O Lord, you will not spurn.*
Pray that your desire be conformed to God's will. Pray that He transform what you want, so that it becomes what He wants. Amen.
* Psalm 51:19.
No comments:
Post a Comment