Thursday, March 25, 2010

From Wishing to Desiring: Friday, March 27, 2010

 

One week from today:  Good Friday.  Lent will have concluded.  We might inqure of our hearts and minds:  "What has been the message God has left for me to understand?"  The three readings present for our prayerful consideration three "giants" of the bible: Jeremiah, David and Jesus.  In these readings are instances when truth is important, when discernment is critically important.  In each of the encounters, we read how each of these men demonstrated their commitment to a pledge, a promise.

What have you learned about yourself during this Lent?  What has God asked you to change in your day-to-day living?  Was/Is it so difficult that you turn your attention away from his suggestion?  Is it too much for you at this time in your life?  Or is it a challenge that you feel you cannot achieve on our own but one that you have the strongest desire to achieve?

We have, at one time or another, no doubt, heard speakers refer to moving ahead to achieve the seemingly unattainable by use of phrases like "burning bridges behind us" or "setting fire to the boats after all were ashore.  These phrases were meant to encourage.  With bridges and/or ships destroyed, there was not alternative:  forward into the battle!  These examples speak of having a "burning desire" to accomplish a change.  To accomplish what God asks of us is to go beyond "wishing" to do God's will to "desiring" to fulfilling his wishes for us.  To succeed in actualizing God's will in my life is nothing less than making what God wants of me nothing less than an obsession.  Just think of the lives of the saints:  the will of God was the goal they sought to achieve.

Tomorrow I will share with you six steps, easy steps, that can help anyone take genuine desire for going God's will and making it a reality in life.  Today, however, attempt to draft a single sentence that expresses what you have learned as God's will for you at this time.  Try to have a sentence ready from tomorrow's six steps.  It might make reflection more meaningful.