More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
April 29 - May 9, 2023
To humble us, to test us, to know what is in our hearts . . . such is the sifting power of helplessness. In our daily lives, we may prefer self-reliance. But perhaps utter dependence is the truer friend of our souls.
нєνєℓ ¢ανα liked this
“Your death we proclaim, Lord, and your resurrection we confess, until you come.”
Faith, in general, is less about the sacrifice of stuff and more about the surrender of our souls. Lent, in kind, is less about well-mannered denials and more about thinning our lives in order to thicken our communion with God. Decrease is holy only when its destination is love.
Christian spirituality, the contemplative life, is not about us. It is about God. The great weakness of American spirituality is that it is all about us: fulfilling our potential, getting the blessings of God, expanding our influence, finding our gifts, getting a handle on principles by which we can get an edge over the competition. The more there is of us, the less there is of God. —EUGENE PETERSON1
Self cannot satisfy self, no matter how frequently it feasts.
“A thought comes to me that troubles me and gives me no rest. It is not strong enough to make me act; it only hinders my progress toward virtue. A vigilant man would shake it off and arise for prayer.” —ABBA THEODORE OF SCETIS (C. 4TH CENTURY)
Enter into the desert of our hearts where, removed from side issues, we can face what we are, and in compunction, penthos, over that reality, let us . . . [die] to self so that we may live for others, as we make vigil before the coming of the Lord.
Regret empties anticipation, flattens dreams, and suffocates hope, because regret is a form of self-punishment. Whereas hindsight helps us learn from the past, regret beats us up with the past.
So for one entire day (or go for forty), I invite you to fast regret. Do not feed it. Do not give it space. Let it go: God’s mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). And meditate on Jesus’ glorious promise from Revelation 21:5: “I am making everything new!”
“Recall what I have done in the past. Accept me as the Great I Am of your future.”
concept. We are valuable because God is Creator. We are forgiven because God is Redeemer. If God is not who we thought He was, then who are we? Many of us dare not even ask the question. Do we fear that God will fail the test? Dr. Leonard Sweet teaches that in the Jewish culture,
We weaken—not strengthen—our faith when we silence sincere questions. Faith in Christ is not an airy substance that rests on unquestioning souls. Biblical faith is muscular, thickened more through trials than ease. The
Who is Jesus? Jesus is more than we thought, hoped, or imagined. His wildness is a source of wonder, not of worry. His righteousness is deeper than the oceans. His goodness is higher than the heavens. His faithfulness exceeds our comprehension. So what does that make us? Loved. Who are we? Christ’s beloved. We are loved when making bold proclamations near cool waters under sunny skies. We are loved when asking sincere questions in dark cells and darker times. We are loved.
“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” —C. S. Lewis (1898–1963)
“We have never reaped such a harvest from any seed as from that which fell from our hands while tears were falling from our eyes.”
We like our miracles to be perpetual, thank you. Once raised, we want Lazarus to live forever. But he cannot. So we are bewildered when the recipient of the miracle still dies.
seems to me that miracles are less of a promise for tomorrow and more of a manifestation of God’s love and power for today. Today, God provides bread. Today, God calms the storm. Tomorrow’s needs and storms cannot void the reality of today’s miracles any more than today’s miracles can void the potential of tomorrow’s needs and storms.
Six years before I met my husband, his first wife died in a tragic car accident. The two loved God and one another and were headed back to seminary from celebrating Christmas with their families when they hit an ice-covered stretch of road. Barry explained that following the accident the greatest gift people gave him was their supportive presence. The most hurtful offerings came from those who tried to fix Barry’s pain with platitudes such as God picks His favorite flowers for His heavenly garden. Or You’re young; you will remarry. Such clumsy attempts to fix someone else’s pain reflect the
...more
The unknown triggers different reactions in different hearts and exposes our souls’ defaults. Ambiguity reveals where we instinctively go to feel the illusion of security again.
As it did for these two men, whatever the cause of our physical and spiritual blindness, whatever family we do or do not have, whatever sins or successes we count as our own, Jesus’ presence makes this moment the most important moment of our lives.
“To be is to inter-be. We cannot just be by ourselves alone.”
When considerations start turning into hesitations about something Jesus is clearly at the center of, throw hypercaution to the wind, and celebrate Jesus with abandon.
“wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.
So does this mean we need to buy ropes and start making whips? No. But perhaps we need to stop hiding safely behind hashtag campaigns and instead show up and speak out. And perhaps the next time we feel angry about corruption and injustice, instead of stifling the anger, we should ask God what He wants us to do with the anger. Odds are, He probably feels angry too.
“The question asked is not, ‘What should be happening in my life?’ but ‘What is happening in my life?’ The present moment, the present set of circumstances, the present relationships in our lives—this is where God lives. This is where God meets us and gives us life.” — ALICE FRYLING
Obedience is not a moment: it is a process connected by countless moments.
It is useless to fast from food, protests St. Basil, and yet to indulge in cruel criticism and slander: “You do not eat meat, but you devour your brother.”7
Our temptation is to be so impressed by our sins and failings and so overwhelmed by our lack of generosity that we get stuck in a paralyzing guilt. It is the guilt that says: ‘I am too sinful to deserve God’s mercy.’ It is the guilt that leads to introspection instead of directing our eyes to God. It is the guilt that has become an idol and therefore a form of pride. Lent is the time to break down this idol and to direct our attention to our Loving Lord.”
Jesus is not aloofly watching you. Jesus is always with you. He does not offer you hypothetical, armchair advice: Jesus offers you Himself. As with any relationship, sharing life is much easier when you believe you have shared ground.
Today, fast neutrality. In the small, undocumented details of life, choose Jesus over self and recommit to living cross-ward.
Today, fast denial. Be honest with yourself so that you can be honest with God. In Jesus’ prayer, He did not deny His emotions but rather ushered them to their safest position: behind His will.
Sometimes I, like the disciples, have defaulted to my pillow instead of to prayer in the denial-laden hope that somehow all would be set right again when I opened my eyes.
Today, fast comparison. Cease determining the value of your reality by your perceptions of others’ reality. Bless and pray specifically for those who appear “closer in.” (They may be overwhelmed with sorrow.)
Yes, Jesus saw it coming, but knowledge does not numb the soul to pain.
“If every annoyance can be made to remind me to turn and grip Your hand and ask You, ‘What are you saying through this vexation?’ then I can turn life’s rough spots into Your vocabulary. If I can do that perfectly, nothing can defeat my soul.” —FRANK LAUBACH (1884–1970)3
Today, fast daydreaming of “more.” Refuse to allow discontentment brain space. Each time you are tempted to picture your life with something else or something new or something different, stop. (Yes, I just said STOP.) And redirect your mental energy to thank God for anything in your current reality for which you can be grateful.
Today, consider the restrictions you are experiencing—whether from disease, dysfunction, requirements, or rules. Fast formulas and instead spend time in prayerful
Jesus did not fear death. Jesus did not fear suffering. He possessed an authority that could be neither bought nor beaten: an interior authority that others could misrepresent but never intimidate.
Jesus, you have already embraced everything that I fear. I renounce fear’s hold on me. By God’s grace I share Your victory.
So when an earthquake reveals internal fault lines that we never knew existed, and as the ground shakes we fall into our own disillusionment, we need to remember to get back up, receive forgiveness, and call upon our newly acquired humility to strengthen others.
Some things just have to be believed to be seen.” —PHILIP YANCEY4
“Jesus endured His suffering for me. He believed—and still believes—that I am worth it.”
Today, fast criticism. From the clerk moving slowly to the homeless vet on the streets, consider carefully that Jesus knows them by name. Today, seek to know more, assume less, and air prayers for Jesus’ “least of these” boldly in the presence of your shared Father God.
We, too, have thought our dreams were God’s dreams and, consequently, prayed, believed, made plans, and worked hard. And then suddenly, it was over, and we sat graveside, by lifeless hopes, as the doubting began: “Did I miss something? Should I have prayed or done more? If this was not God’s will, then I know nothing about hearing the voice of God.”
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972), “Labor is a craft, but perfect rest is an art.”
What grows from that painful planting is God’s business. But sowing in faith is ours and, like the early disciples, our faithfulness is never sown in vain.
Oh the times we assumed ourselves alone that will one day display that He had gone before us!
