As I follow the daily verses in my Lenten Journey I continue to perceive more wisdom in scripture and how it can be applied to my spiritual and physical life. God is with us - who can be against us. We put up so many barriers to allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and guide us in God's will. We let fear and worldly worries obstruct our relationship with Jesus. How often do we believe, yet in the same sentence doubt and latch onto our unworthiness. I often neglect to pray about from suffering and worries to God under the assumption it is my job to solve my mess and God doesn't have time to help me with worldly matters. Nothing can be farther from the truth! God loves us and sent HIS only Son Jesus Christ, the incarnate God, to live, walk actively on earth, ministering to our physical and spiritual needs. Christ suffered and felt loss, worry, fear, and even doubt - but his faith and love of the Father, and trust in the Holy Spirit sustained Christ on HIS mission. Christ came with the purpose to preach salvation and to die on the cross to forgive us from sins, but more importantly he came to teach us to embrace an abundant life in God's love and called us to a higher purpose on earth, a purpose where our ego and fear does not prop us up in the facade of ivory towers against crumbling walls. You can preach and do all the moves to act like a Christian but it takes a spirit of joy and change and a will to love in grace through works in commune with the Holy Trinity.
God is with us. Christ's message and purpose is salvation and living life abundantly. If we live in the abundance life of Christ, we accept the gift of the Holy Spirit and are moved to action on a journey like a river...
Water has been on my mind as I spend the final hours of my sojourn at Wrightsville Beach. The ocean is so strong and powerful, recklessly rising and crashing, but it flows and moves in a rhythm, the sea is a heartbeat. Today I witnessed the hand of God's life in the water, the rise and fall of the waves, the ebb and flow of sand and shells, the glimmer and gray. Being a Christian does not mean our road will be easy - you will be persecuted, suffer against the worldly tide, but God's tides is a different beat - a beat of perpetual motion and grace - stillness out of chaos. When we approach the Living Waters we begin to recognize the SPIRIT of Christ in even turbulent waters. Christ is an ark, God is a mover who sometimes places us in storms so we are forced to turn away from worldly desire and submit ourselves to HIS will - not submission as a desperate act with no roots - rather turning to God's Spirit in a reconciliation and recognition of HIS grace and the necessity of his active work in our lives. We are not an island. An example of this is when I kept putting off moving because I did not think I could afford a car. I assumed God did not want me to have a car - well for 3 of the 4 years I think God did give me the message through the Holy Spirit - be patient you don't need a car - use the bus and walk - but then I used that as a crux so I blocked signals and messages from the Spirit. God is movement, the Spirit is a water that can cleanse, Christ quenches our thirst
The water may flood and swell, constrict and dry in the sun, yet in ice and drought it flows, cutting and twisting, trusting that life is ever moving and God is ever present.
My lesson I remind myself as I stand on the edge of the ocean...let the tide carry my worries out to sea God, may you flow abundant love and instruct me in your divine purpose in my life. My I continue to emulate your waters, peace in perpetual motion, journeying and cleansing, cutting and carving always at work, while content in the knowledge of your peace.
God is working before us, Christ is beside us, The Holy Spirit is within us...The Holy Trinity is working behind the scenes, but God expects us to participate - to ask for help and to accept his guidance.
I pray God, guide me in your ways and orchestrate a rhythm in my soul to hear your song and follow the spirit to my advocate in Christ. May I cleanse my tarnished soul and offer love and light to others wherever I go, guided by your love and always full and ready to give our your spirit to those in need as I drink our your cup and sacred river of life in the Holy Spirit you have given to rest and actively work in our heart, mind and soul. I can write a thesis on the importance of water - how it fuels our agriculture and thousands of species, birds and provides important functions on our planet - all of this is just a small reflection of the infinite love and active abundance of God's Living Waters. Drink from God's Cup in the Holy Spirit and Christ's loving care - and even in desert times you will never thirst.
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