God Thought 10/26/22

Today's God thought is an exert from the book Making All Things New, by Henri J. M. Nouwen.  As I read this in my devotional time this morning, I felt God calling me explore deeper what our spiritual lives look like.  Do we make every day, every hour and moment of our lives as opportunity for God's light to shine in and through us?  We say we believe that God has come to give us life and life to the fullest, but are we letting Him have his way with us?

The spiritual life is not a life before, after or beyond our everyday existence.  No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now.  Therefore we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year, in or to become more fully aware of our hunger for the Spirit.  As long as we have only a vague inner feeling of discontent with our present way of living, and only an indefinite desire for "things spiritual," our lives will continue to stagnate in a generalized melancholy. we often say, "I am not happy. I am not  content with the way my life is going. I am not really joyful or peaceful, but I just don' know how things can be different, and I guess I have to be realistic and accept my life as it is."  It is this mood of resignation that prevents us form actively searching for the life of the Spirit.

Our first task is to dispel the vague, murky feelings of discontentment and to look critically at how we are living our lives.  This requires honesty, courage, and trust. We must honestly unmask, and courageously confront our many self-deceptive games.  We must trust that our honesty and courage will lead us not to despair, but to a new heaven and a new earth.

 A quote from "Making All Things New" --Herni J. M. Nouwen,--