Category Archives: SPIRITUAL INTEREST

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I Am Grateful for You!

You are a friend of mine and I am so thankful that I know you. That’s the truth. First off, I am thankful that you are a Christian. If you aren’t a Christian, then let me tell you, you want to become one. Trust in the Lord as your Savior, and then you will be one of His children. I don’t know who reads this, but God is your friend, your comforter, and your peace.

God Is With Us

I’m happy right now. God is helping me do the things He gives me to do. They aren’t big things, yet He gives them to me to do, and that makes them okay in His sight. I’m thankful for all the little and big things He sends my way. God is good that way. He surprises us, and He helps us. When we get discouraged, He picks us up. Our life is a journey that only He understands.

He Surprises Me

Lately God’s been taking me down a new path. As I timidly step down the path, He is by my side. He even holds my hand when I need it. He says “trust me.” So I am learning to trust Him more than I used to. He says, “Look for Me,” and I begin to look for Him. I see Him in the things that grow, in the cloudy sky, in the food I eat, in my friends, in the problems I face, and in many other things that garner my attention.

I get in trouble, though. Something is not going right for me, what then? Even though I’m tempted to give up or to take the well worn path to make it turn out okay, I don’t. Why not? God will bring it to pass in His way, and that’s okay with me. Why? again. His way is the best way. I know that is true. I just know it. He has never failed me, though, to others it might seem that He has.

He Keeps On Teaching Me

Of course, my circumstances are different than yours. But God works in all our lives. He is bringing us along to take care of us. To help us. To bring us truth. To guide our steps. To teach us to trust Him. To help us learn His truths. To use us to help our neighbors. To nudge us to pray for those in our lives and beyond where we live. There is so much He wants to teach us. He wants to guide us, redeem us, and help us — and that’s saying a lot. God knows what He is doing (and we do not).

At times we all feel that we aren’t living it quite right. We aren’t as good as we should be. But God says “Trust Me.” I remember when my husband left me for good; I was discouraged. I had tried so hard but it had not been what He was looking for. I didn’t understand, but God did. For three years He gave me the same answer every time I asked Him for answers. He only said, “Trust Me.” I wanted answers to my questions but He was silent. All I would get in answer to my many questions was “Trust Me.”

Then I Got It

Slowly, bit by bit, I was learning to trust Him. He needed to teach me through my trusting Him. That was a major thing to learn. Trusting Him meant that I could and would accept what came my way. I thought I was trusting Him, but I came to see it differently. Trust is something that grows. I trust more than I did a year ago. It’s true. He is pushing me further along. Once you bring understanding or misunderstanding before Him then He knows you are listening to Him. You quit fighting Him and begin to trust Him. It’s wonderful when He has our full attention.

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The Examine and Me

Read the following five statements before you lay down at night. Consider them closely. deeply, and reflectively. Pray for God’s wisdom and guidance. Commit the following day to God. Actively wait. Watch what happens. You may be surprised.

Let’s say, you aren’t exactly sure how to approach God. Well, you can learn from others. Take St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish priest and theologian. He understood the dailyness of walking the faith. He had a simple habit he prayed each night. It was the last thing he did before retiring. He prayed the prayer I wrote down. Of course, he spent some time on each thought. His walk grew and changed the more he grew and changed. He was grounded in word and worship as he daily partook of the grace God gave him.

The Examine: Pray Each Evening

  1. Ask God to be with you.
  2. Recall events of the day for which you feel grateful.
  3. Do a review of the day.
  4. Ask forgiveness for any sins.
  5. Ask for grace to follow grace more closely the following day.

The Examine was formed and followed each day by St. Ignatius long ago (1500’s). It was his habit. The last thing he did each day was he would review his day, thinking through his actions, thoughts, struggles and blessings. He’d look closely each day so that the next day he might be all that he should desire to be. Her wanted to be all that God wished he would be.

The History of the Examine

Was it easy? No. Was it worth while? Yes. His life reflected his walk with God. God was his strength. He learned from God. His life was an example to his brothers and to the world at large. He was intent on doing his life the way God wanted him to live it. There were many men who followed him as monks in the ecclesiastical home, but that didn’t make it easier. Every day there are problems to solve. People who need help. Things to do. But God makes a difference when you rely on Him.

St, Ignatius lived a life that was remarkable. He experienced God in an unusual way. Before he had a remarkable conversion, he was quite taken with impressing others and drawing attention to himself with his dress and weapons. Then God got a hold of him. He gave his outfit away. He lived poor and on the gifts or help of others. He spent hours. I mean hours in prayer and so forth. He was a literally changed man.

Taking the Examine to Heart

I started reading about St. Ignatius back in 2008. A couple of years later I wrote his prayer on a slip of paper so that I might recite it every night. During this time I read some of the great authors of the church beyond my baptist training. I was surprised and taken aback by the depth I found in Chesterton, Ignatius, St. Thomas and others. I realized I had been blind out of ignorance. Back in the day there was so much I had been closed to learning. Mistakingly I believed the only sincere Christians were evangelicals. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I learned much about paying attention to the gist of their writings even though I held a somewhat different view. You can do this too.

Christians need to get their eyes off the ways they do Christian work. We can learn a bunch of things that we never gave much thought to. If we all give a measure of good thought to the ways of Christ, we would grow and develop hearts that are close to things of God. It’s so beautiful to draw near to God, then God draws near to us. We can learn much from God. The more we draw upon Him, the more we understand and cherish the things we know and learn from Him. These things are close to our soul.

Cherish These Things…Always

God will be with you. You may not be aware of Him now, but He is active and concerned about you and your welfare. You may be in one of those times when you feel lonely and think you are all alone, but God is there. He cares, helps and heals. You can call out to Him, and He will come. Maybe not the moment you call, but He is with you. I’m so glad He is with me and you.