Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great
strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will,
patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow,
confidently, courageously. St. Francis of Assisi
I invite you to re-read this quote several times. Which word(s) do you emphasize above? Read the quote aloud: where do the words
strangely warm your heart, and which words are like sandpaper to your
soul? For example, I love the idea of a
day that is quiet and easy. That sounds
good. I delight in the image of relying
on God for strength and rest. And then,
that third sentence lands with a thud in my soul. To wait on God’s will, wait…what? Does that mean God isn’t on my
timetable and in line with my agenda?
Does that mean that I may not know what is best all the time? This rubs against the gospel of the world
that says you deserve to have it your way, and not only when you are at Burger
King. You deserve to have your needs met
right now with a 100 percent money-back guarantee.
Recently I saw a Peanuts cartoon that is sticking with me. Charlie Brown walks up to Snoopy, who is
typing on a typewriter (so quaint to remember a typewriter). Charlie asks Snoopy what he is writing, and
Snoopy replies, a book of theology. For
me, this makes perfect sense; dog is God spelled backwards. But Charlie is aghast: what could a dog
know about theology! And Charlie
asks what the title is, and Snoopy replies, “Has it ever occurred to you
that you might be wrong?” That
is a good theology title and a good reminder of faith. I don’t know what I don’t know, but that
often doesn’t stop me from quickly forming and sharing an opinion. To wait on God for God’s wisdom. And to seek out God’s wisdom.
What would it mean to not just lean on God’s great strength (as if God were
there to give you motivation to do your will), but to trust in God for God’s
will? What if our strength, then, was to
show up in the world as God’s peace, joy, hope, and love each day?
Ponder this quote as a doorway to our still-speaking God at work in our
lives each day. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment