Letting Go of Our Fear of God

We are afraid of emptiness. Spinoza speaks about our "horror vacui," our horrendous fear of vacancy. We like to occupy-fill up-every empty time and space. We want to be occupied. And if we are not occupied we easily become preoccupied; that is, we fill the empty spaces before we have even reached them. We fill them with our worries, saying, "But what if ..."

It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. God wants to dwell in our emptiness. But as long as we are afraid of God and God's actions in our lives, it is unlikely that we will offer our emptiness to God. Let's pray that we can let go of our fear of God and embrace God as the source of all love.

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

The power of grace over addictions

Lately I have been pondering God's ability to give all of us power to conquer sin in our lives. I watched Letters to God recently and one of the characters struggled with alcoholism. This song came on during the scene when the war was waging inside of this man. As I listened to the lyrics and watched him decide that the sin that had held him captive and ruined his life was no longer going to have a foothold in his life I began to cry.

There are things in my life that if I just allowed God to take me to the waters edge I could conquer. Addictions that trap my soul and eat away at the very joy and life that God's grace can bring seem to run rampant within me.

A lot of times I can have crap in my life that I know I should deal with but am so selfish and complacent in my sin that I do nothing about it. Why don't I fight my sin? Why don't I confront it head on with everything I have? Is it because I am trying to conquer sin in my own power rather than God's?

It has to start with God. I will never be successful at conquering these addictions in my life until I submit to the grace and power of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Did you know that the basic definition of the characteristic of God being gracious is; in spite of our many failings, He delights in us and gives us far more than we deserve. We see tons of scriptures that reveal this truth throughout the whole bible. Grace is not just a New Testament concept. These men of faith that Hebrews talks about from the Old Testament all found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:8)

"And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness..." (Exodus 34:6)

Both of these men had great faith and I strongly believe that it is because they first saw the grace of the LORD upon their lives. May we be like these men and pursue God's grace in our lives so we too can conquer sin and live a life of faith. May we face our sin head on with the power of the resurrected LORD because we first have found forgiveness and grace in His eyes.

Here are just a few verses that we can mediate on to remind ourselves of the truth of God's grace on our lives.

"For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield."(Psalm 5:12)

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us- yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:17)

"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy." (Psalm 145:8)

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you." (Isaiah 30:18-19)

Celebrating Being Alive

Birthdays are so important. On our birthdays we celebrate being alive. On our birthdays people can say to us, "Thank you for being!" Birthday presents are signs of our families' and friends' joy that we are part of their lives. Little children often look forward to their birthdays for months. Their birthdays are their big days, when they are the center of attention and all their friends come to celebrate.

We should never forget our birthdays or the birthdays of those who are close to us. Birthdays keep us childlike. They remind us that what is important is not what we do or accomplish, not what we have or who we know, but that we are, here and now. On birthdays let us be grateful for the gift of life.

Returning to God's Ever-Present Love

We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn't approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God's love. Evil does not belong to God.

God's unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God's ever-present love

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.