May 2013
Reflections of God's Goodness

Are you a take-charge person? Do you like to be on top of things? I do. These are attributes valued by the world, and certainly they are good. Sometimes however, we walk around in the misconception that we can control our lives and everything in it.

Faith however takes a certain childlike attitude. As adults, we often lay aside the attitudes we need to live a life of deep faith: Trust…Surrender…Love with Abandon…Powerlessness. These are not attributes that the world values much but God invites us to them day after day.

There is so much wrong in our world. We witness tragedies of unimaginable horror, we see lives destroyed by selfishness, scandal, broken families, abused children, etc. What can we do? How should we react or respond? There are no easy answers and yet if we can believe, year after year, that Spring will come, we can believe that God is at work in every difficult situation.

Remember, just a little while ago, we were living in the frozen, dark days of winter! Even then, life was working to come back again. We cannot see what makes Spring happen. A few warm days and the whole of creation gets busy. Trusting that Spring will come again reminds us that God is at work when we cannot see Him.

Faith asks us to lay aside the illusion of our power to control! Faith is not about power, it’s about surrender and a certain childlike trust in a very loving Father. Children naturally live in trust and surrender. Imagine a small child reaching up for her mother’s hand as they approach a street corner. The child has complete trust in the mother to keep her safe. She knows instinctively that her mother has the bigger view, the experience and the power needed in every situation. This is the kind of trust we are asked to have in God. Following Jesus, we too call the Father “ Abba” (Daddy), knowing and trusting that the Father has the big picture that we cannot begin to see.

Trust…Surrender…Love with Abandon…Powerlessness

When we rely on God’s power and understanding rather than our own we can be sure that the outcome will be good for us. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

Let us have faith that God is at work even when we cannot see. All of creation is bursting forth with new life. We are witnessing resurrection all around us! Let each new bud or blossom remind us of the promise --we too will rise again from whatever troubles us, whatever sadness clouds our lives. Let us pray for every person and situation that concerns us, scares us or makes us sad.

My prayer for you today… “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the HOPE to which He has called you…”  Ephesians1:17-18

 

Blessings,

Sister Mary Ann Barnhorn
Director of Development