You Are the Beloved Quotes

“For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always tried again, even when I was close to despair. Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by him?” The question is not “How am I to know God?” but “How am I to let myself be known by God?” And, finally, the question is not “How am I to love God?” but “How am I to let myself be loved by God?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living

“Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: “These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Poverty, pain, struggle, anguish, agony, and even inner darkness may continue to be part of our experience. They may even be God’s way of purifying us. But life is no longer boring, resentful, depressing, or lonely because we have come to know that everything that happens is part of our way to the Father.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“A Prayer Dear Lord”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“People who have come to know the joy of God do not deny the darkness, but they choose not to live in it. They claim that the light that shines in the darkness can be trusted more than the darkness itself and that a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness. They point each other to flashes of light here and there, and remind each other that they reveal the hidden but real presence of God. They discover that there are people who heal each other’s wounds, forgive each other’s offenses, share their possessions, foster the spirit of community, celebrate the gifts they have received, and live in constant anticipation of the full manifestation of God’s glory.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“We have such a need for love that we often expect from our fellow human beings something that only God can give, and then we quickly end up being angry, resentful, lustful, and sometimes even violent. As soon as the first commandment is no longer truly the first, our society moves to the edge of self-destruction.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“We are fearful people. We are afraid of conflict, war, an uncertain future, illness, and, most of all, death. This fear takes away our freedom and gives our society the power to manipulate us with threats and promises. When we can reach beyond our fears to the One who loves us with a love that was there before we were born and will be there after we die, then oppression, persecution, and even death will be unable to take our freedom.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Joy and sadness are as close to each other as the splendid colored leaves of a New England fall to the soberness of barren trees.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Writing Reveals What Is Alive in Us Writing is a process in which we discover what lives in us. The writing itself reveals to us what is alive in us. The deepest satisfaction of writing is precisely that it opens up new spaces within us of which we were not aware before we started to write. To write is to embark on a journey whose final destination we do not know. Thus, writing requires a real act of trust. We have to say to ourselves: “I do not yet know what I carry in my heart, but I trust that it will emerge as I write.” Writing is like giving away the few loaves and fishes one has, trusting that they will multiply in the giving. Once we dare to “give away” on paper the few thoughts that come to us, we start discovering how much is hidden underneath these thoughts and gradually come in touch with our own riches.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Freedom belongs to the core of the spiritual life; not just the freedom that releases us from forces that want to oppress us, but the freedom also to forgive others, to serve them, and to form a new bond of fellowship with them. In short, the freedom to love and to work for a free world.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“If you are wounded, and I know that you and I are, put your brokenness under the blessing.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“God asks you not to have a successful life but to have a fruitful life.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“As long as we belong to this world, we will remain subject to its competitive ways and expect to be rewarded for all the good we do.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“At every moment you have to decide to trust the voice that says, “I love you. I knit you together in your mother’s womb” (see Psalm 139:13).”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“the deep-seated fear that it would have been better if you had not lived.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“The resurrection does not solve our problems about dying and death. It is not the happy ending to our life’s struggle, nor is it the big surprise that God has kept in store for us. No, the resurrection is the expression of God’s faithfulness to Jesus and to all God’s children. Through the resurrection, God has said to Jesus, “You are indeed my beloved Son, and my love is everlasting,” and to us God has said, “You indeed are my beloved children, and my love is everlasting.” The resurrection is God’s way of revealing to us that nothing that belongs to God will ever go to waste. What belongs to God will never get lost—not even our mortal bodies. The resurrection doesn’t answer any of our curious questions about life after death, such as: How will it be? How will it look? But it does reveal to us that, indeed, love is stronger than death. After that revelation, we must remain silent, leave the whys, wheres, hows, and whens behind, and simply trust. Our Greatest Gift”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Your pain is deep, and it won’t just go away. It is also uniquely yours, because it is linked to some of your earliest life experiences. Your call is to bring that pain home. As long as your wounded part remains foreign to your adult self, your pain will injure you as well as others. Yes, you have to incorporate your pain into your self and let it bear fruit in your heart and the hearts of others. This is what Jesus means when he asks you to take up your cross. He encourages you to recognize and embrace your unique suffering and to trust that your way to salvation lies therein. Taking up your cross means, first of all, befriending your wounds and letting them reveal to you your own truth. There is great pain and suffering in the world. But the pain hardest to bear is your own. Once you have taken up that cross, you will be able to see clearly the crosses that others have to bear, and you will be able to reveal to them their own ways to joy, peace, and freedom.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“What really counts is our willingness to let the immense sufferings of our brothers and sisters free us from all arrogance and from all judgments and condemnations and give us a heart as gentle and humble as the heart of Jesus.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“As I think about Jesus’ words, I know that I must let go of all divisive emotions and thoughts so that I can truly experience peace with all of God’s people. This means an unrestrained willingness to forgive and let go of old fears, bitterness, resentment, anger, and lust, and thus find reconciliation.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“To remember my mother does not mean telling her story over and over again to my friends, nor does it mean pictures on the wall or a stone on her grave; it does not even mean constantly thinking about her. No. It means making her a participant in God’s ongoing work of redemption by allowing her to dispel in me a little more of my darkness and lead me a little closer to the light.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Maybe the reason it seems hard for me to forgive others is that I do not fully believe that I am a forgiven person. If I could fully accept the truth that I am forgiven and do not have to live in guilt or shame, I would really be free.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“We have such a need for love that we often expect from our fellow human beings something that only God can give, and then we quickly end up being angry, resentful, lustful, and sometimes even violent. As soon as the first commandment is no longer truly the first, our society moves to the edge of self-destruction. Love,”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“But once I am able to truly confess my most profound dependence on others and on God, I can come in touch with my true self and real community can develop.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“In the end, a life of prayer is a life with open hands—a life where we need not be ashamed of our weaknesses but realize that it is more perfect for us to be led by the Other than to try to hold everything in our own hands.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“If that is true, then the real question for me as I consider my own death is not: how much can I still accomplish before I die, or will I be a burden to others? No, the real question is: how can I live so that my death will be fruitful for others?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“The Burden of Judgment Imagine having no need at all to judge anybody. Imagine having no desire to decide whether someone is a good or bad person. Imagine being completely free from the feeling that you have to make up your mind about the morality of someone’s behavior. Imagine that you could say: “I am judging no one!” Imagine—Wouldn’t that be true inner freedom?…But we can only let go of the heavy burden of judging others when we don’t mind carrying the light burden of being judged! Can we free ourselves from the need to judge others? Yes, by claiming for ourselves the truth that we are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God. As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to the need to put people and things in their “right” place. To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, we can let go of our need to judge. “Do not judge and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get” (Matthew 7:1–2,”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“The question is not “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by him?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“Act ahead of your feelings and trust that one day your feelings will match your convictions. Choose now and continue to choose this incredible truth.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“In the depths of his anguish, Henri made a conscious choice to spend a good part of every day in solitude, seeking God.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional

“when prayer is no longer its primary concern, and when its many activities are no longer seen and experienced as part of prayer itself, the community quickly degenerates into a club with a common cause but no common vocation.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, You Are the Beloved: 365 Daily Readings and Meditations for Spiritual Living: A Devotional