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Figuring out what you want and then trying to make it happen (day after day, year after year) is hard work. Maybe it’s supposed to be a lot simpler and less exhausting than that.
Father, I am tired from ‘my will be done.’ I want to rest for a while in ‘Thy will be done.’ From Matthew 6:10
“[R]est in God is . . . the true bliss of the creature." Andrew Murray
Trying to make yourself happy is about as relaxing and rewarding as chasing your tail. Once you give up, you can rest easy, even on the parched and weary days.
“Let me be full; let me be empty. Let me have all things; let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure. . . .” John Wesley
“[I]n a parched and weary land . . . I am satisfied. . . . I rejoice in the shadow of Your wings. . . .” Psalm 63:1, 5, 7
If God is demanding and disapproving and disappointing, it makes good sense to keep your distance. If He is an ocean of everything you’re thirsty for, it doesn’t.
“[God] whose infinite being is . . . [a] never-ceasing, . . . overflowing ocean of . . . delight, blessing, goodness, patience, and mercy. . . .” William Law
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me. . . .” John 7:37
When you photograph someone, you try to find and feature the best in her. What if you tried to do that every time you talked to (and about) her?
"[S]tooping very low, He engraves with care/His Name, indelible, upon our dust. . . .” Patricia St. John
“God created mankind in His own image and likeness. . . .” Genesis 1:27
If somebody is naturally down or irritable or gruff, a few kind and encouraging words from him probably please God more than a week’s-worth of kindnesses from a person who sails through life. He knows very well that some of us have hard cars to drive.
“[I]f you are . . . poisoned by [your] upbringing . . . [or] nagged day in and day out by an inferiority complex that makes you snap at your best friends -- do not despair. . . . [God] knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive.” C. S. Lewis
“God knows your hearts.’” Luke 16:15
If you grow in wealth or influence or recognition today, you probably won’t be happier by nightfall. If you grow in wonder, you will.
“[L]ive each day . . . , like children, in wonderment as the sun rises and in thanksgiving as it sets. . . . The beauty of man is in this fidelity to the wonder of each day.” Jean Vanier
Father, help me to live today with my eyes wide open, seeing Your gifts and saying thank you. From Psalm 119:18
