I picked up a book that I had been reading a couple of weeks ago before life got a little to hectic. This book is part of a spirituality class that I took in church a few weeks ago. As I started catching up on my reading, I realized that I had not been counting on God as much as I needed to. I had let those controling characteristics of mine creep back in to my life. The result as you can see in some of my recent posts. Boy, will I be glad when I finally learn that lesson! Instead of showing graditude for all the positive things in my life, I had begun to focus on the negatives. Thats when you know you took it back from your HP and decided to try on your own again. The insanity of humans is unmatched in the universe. I read a passage I wanted to share with some of you and see if it helps you as well..
Sometimes when we are in our self pity of the situation we find ourselves in, we forget that Jesus has experienced exactly what we have.
"Jesus is not a stranger to the belittling experience nor to the feelings of abandonment. In his hometown of Nazareth the people refuse to believe that Jesus is anyone but a local boy making himself out to be someone he is not. When he makes a home visit and teaches in their synagogue, the people are jealous and distrustful, and they reject him. (See Mark 6:1-6)
When Jesus heals a man who has lost the use of his right hand, the religious leaders turn against him because he breaks their tradition of the sabbath. (See Matthew 12:9-14.) At his arrest Jesus' disciples abandon him, and Peter denies even knowing this man. On the cross as he dies, Jesus feels alone and abandoned --even by God.
Jesus is intimate with our experience of pain, loss, hostilitiy, and abandonment. He knows how those adversities trouble our heart. In the parable of the sower and the seeds, he invites us to pay attention to what happens within us when suffering strikes. (See Matthew 13:5-6)
In the parable's explanation, Jesus speaks about two kinds of life events that tend to trap us in their powerful grasp, robbing us of faith, hope, and a sense of God's loving presence.
First Jesus mentions troubles, the difficulties and hardships that are part of our lives. We bear responsibility for some of the troubles, and others just happen.
In our anxiety and panic, we may well forget to pray, or we may see God as unfair, allowing bad things to happen to good people. And who wants to trust in a God like that? Some of us need the courage to tell God how bad life is and just how we feel about it, especially if we have been schooled into believing that God only listens to us if we are polite, have victorious faith or say what is positive and acceptable in prayer. Having been raised under a Victorian rules of behavior and discipline, I was quite sure God would not listen if I said how I really felt! After all, no other authority figure had ever permitted me to speak my heartfelt feelings. The first time I dared to let my fear, disappointments, and anger spill out in prayer, I was sure God would do something awful in return. To my surprise, I discovered that God listened and even spoke comfort to my fearful heart.
The spirit of Jesus indwells us: walking throughout our heartspace; seeing what traps us, engulfs us; knowing our experience of pain, fear, alienation, grief, anger and loss of presence of God. In the midst of our experience, the Spirit begins by sighing our pain. And God who sees all of our story, all that is happening within us, can interpret the sighs of the Spirit on our behalf. As we turn to God in the midst of our troubles, it is because the Spirit who lives with in us helps us turn, even if all we are able to pray is a sigh."
Many of us are guility of not letting our Higher Power lead us in the path that is his will and what is best for our lives. I am so guilty of this just when I think I get it something comes along and I react and the next thing you know I am back fighting a futile battle with my feeling and not letting my Higher Power take care of the things I can't.
I hope some of you get something out of this but after reading the entire chapter, I felt at peace tonight. I have not felt that in a while and it feels good right now. Tomorrow is another day with other difficulties but tonight I am going to enjoy the gift God gave me. Thanks for listening.
Great post.
Sometimes it is difficult to turn it over to God and let him guide us.I know that he is the only way that I make it thru each day.With every day being a mystery God is the one constant thing in my life,my strength when I am weak and feel I cant endure this journey any longer.
Sometimes it is difficult to turn it over to God and let him guide us.I know that he is the only way that I make it thru each day.With every day being a mystery God is the one constant thing in my life,my strength when I am weak and feel I cant endure this journey any longer.