Encouragement
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
We all like to credit ourselves with having immense faith and for being rewarded for our faith by the Almighty. However, there are times when we do not willingly submit all our situations to the Lord. There is always that one part that we hold behind, somehow not fully confident that a no win situation can be turned by the Lord into an achievable one.
The powerful lines of a very beautiful song from ‘The Rose’ comes to mind; “ It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance, it’s the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance and it’s the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.” Perhaps, we can very well identify with these lines. Sometimes, we are afraid to make that one call because we feel that we already know the outcome of the situation and so we give up before even trying. We wonder at times, if people understand our hesitancy, the sadness that lurks in our hearts, the thought that we are standing all alone, that if we venture into the deep, our dream world would come crumbling down as against the stark reality.
A very striking passage in Mark 9:23-24 says it all when a boy possessed by an impure spirit is brought to the Lord and his father tells Jesus that if He can do anything to help him to which the Lord replies; “If you can?, everything is possible for one who believes.” At these words, the man immediately exclaims; “Lord, I do, believe, help my unbelief.” This should be our prayer as well when we do not possess full confidence in our own selves.
We also see that in life, the very things that we like can bring us pain as well. There was a time when come the angelus hour in the evening, I used to wait to adorn the altar of my home with scented candles, my favorite being the vanilla scented ones, the fragrance of which was like a balm to my senses. Sadly, it was only later that I realized after a detrimental incident that I was in fact allergic to candle smoke and I had to give up this ritual. But of course, my prayers continued minus the candles. My fervor and zeal did not change. Sacrifices of all sorts are a part of life but feelings do not alter.
This happens in life as well. Sometimes, we have to change our ways but the flame is still very much alive and strong. If we indulge in different forms of expressions, it means that we have never ever gone away, we are still very much there, and if we have not been away, there is no return required because we have been actively involved day in and day out. It is not as if the earlier side of us is no longer in function. Life may make me serious somewhere down the way, but my point is that I am still the same me! My circumstances may have changed, I maybe weighed down by various problems in life but my love and dedication for God is still the same and ever growing by the day.
When we do not expect anything, then each moment is a surprise and joy. All we need in life is the Lord’s grace for the day as promised by Him in 2 Corinthians 12:9; “My grace is sufficient for you.” He knows our needs and desires. I am thankful for whatever blessing the Lord deigns to give me for the day. We do not need anything extravagant in life, what we require from others is a simple gesture of love which suffices, rather than any royal treatment. Simplicity and tenderness in love is very close to divinity in love.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, St. Paul puts it beautifully; “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
We can only hope that in the fullness of time, we will have the courage to surrender all to the Lord, and be sure that things will fall into place as watered by His Divine hand. We too can reap the harvest of faith if we allow the Lord to work in us and through us to the world around.
Maria Franco
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