Category: Spirituality

Many times, who you could be is far more important than what you can presently do.

I have always wanted to do important things. I have never realized the extent of my frustration until now. But what if God is asking me instead the sacrifice of being still? Of not being able to accomplish all that I desire to do?

Many times, when our good intentions do not bear fruit, we feel that God has abandoned us. But what we do not know is that God may be trying to tell us something else. He may be trying to tell us that He treasures our love more than all the good deeds we could ever accomplish for Him. He may be telling us that though all we could ever do is to rest in Him, His love for us will never ever diminish nor fade away.

“Offer to God the sacrifice of never gathering any fruit. If He will that throughout your whole life you should feel a repugnance to suffering and humiliation—if He permit that all the flowers of your desires and of your good will should fall to the ground without any fruit appearing, do not worry. At the hour of death, in the twinkling of an eye, He will cause fair fruits to ripen on the tree of your soul. – St. Therese of Lisieux

If I were to walk in the midst of a vast desert and find a castle there, I would have no doubt in saying that someone has built a castle there; someone has made it with intelligence, patience and great skill. Why then would I not think, as I gaze upon the galaxies, upon millions of stars in the sky, or upon this wonderful earth we live in, that Someone has made it and made it beautifully so?

The heavens declare the glory of God.
The expanse shows his handiwork.
Day after day they pour out speech,
and night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
their words to the end of the world.
-Psalm 19, WEBBE

For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse. – Romans 1:20, WEBBE

For truly all men who had no perception of God were vain by nature,
and didn’t gain power to know him who exists from the good things that are seen.
They didn’t recognise the architect from his works.
But they thought that either fire, or wind, or swift air,
or circling stars, or raging water, or luminaries of heaven
were gods that rule the world.
If it was through delight in their beauty that they took them to be gods,
let them know how much better their Sovereign Lord is than these,
for the first author of beauty created them.
But if it was through astonishment at their power and influence,
then let them understand from them how much more powerful he who formed them is.
For from the greatness of the beauty of created things,
mankind forms the corresponding image of their Maker.
But yet for these men there is but small blame,
for they too perhaps go astray
while they are seeking God and desiring to find him.
For they diligently search while living amongst his works,
and they trust their sight that the things that they look at are beautiful.
But again even they are not to be excused.
For if they had power to know so much,
that they should be able to explore the world,
how is it that they didn’t find the Sovereign Lord sooner?
-Wisdom of Solomon 13:1-9, WEBBE

People come to God tired, exhausted, hurting, hungry and lonely. Perhaps, instead of quickly judging them or giving them a list of what they should and should not do, it would be better to bring them to Jesus, and to let them know how much God loves them, how very much they are cared for and longed for. Maybe in this way, people get to change their lives not because of fear or force or shame. They change because they’ve finally found the God who loves them. For aren’t we all just yearning to be loved?

The difficulty in admitting our mistakes sometimes comes from the thought that what we did is unforgivable. We condemn ourselves when in truth, God offers His mercy and His love.

Sometimes, beneath our pride is but a terrible fear that we can no longer be loved once we were found to be imperfect. Humility saves us by giving us hope. It allows us to think that despite everything, we can still be loved and we can still be capable of loving.

For quite a long time, I felt that humility is something that is meant to debase us and make us think low about ourselves. I’ve realized however that humility instead helps us see that despite our mistakes, there is still something good within us that God wants to save, something beautiful that God desires to preserve for all eternity. Humility does not lead to despair but to hope. It makes us believe that no matter how dark our lives have been, we can still find our way back into the light. We can still begin again.

0 supreme and inaccessible Light,
0 complete and blessed Truth,
how far You are from me,
even though I am so near to You!
How remote You are from my sight,
even though I am present to Yours!
You are everywhere in Your entirety,
and yet I do not see You;
in You I move and have my being,
and yet I cannot approach You;
You are within me and around me,
and yet I do not perceive You.
O God, let me know You and love You
so that I may find my joy in You;
and if I cannot do so fully in this life,
let me at least make some progress every day,
until at last that knowledge, love, and joy
come to me in all their plenitude.
– St. Anselm