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The first reading from 1 Samuel 3:3-10 from Sunday’s Mass is one of my favorites in all of Scripture, probably because it motivates me to meditate on a question I perpetually wrestle with:
Lord, what do you WANT from me, anyway? Speak. Just speak, Lord, and tell me. I’m listening.
I often get so frustrated because it’s almost as if the Lord puts it back on me by answering, “I created all things for good. Just choose a path and trust me. I will lead you right.”
But but but … BUT LORD. JUST TELL ME! Oh, how much time and energy have I spent trying to figure out God’s plan exactly as I think he would have it?
I’m s-l-o-w-l-y coming to the peaceful realization that I don’t need to know it all after all. Simply, all I need to know is that I have a mission, one that I may never figure out in this life, but one that shall be revealed in the next.
I’m currently praying with the book Everyday Meditations, a collection of Blessed John Henry Newman‘s greatest devotions and meditations. The following prayer of Newman’s is a gem; one I’m now praying daily.
LORD, I am born to serve you, to be yours, to be your instrument. Let me be your blind instrument. I ask not to see. I ask not to know. I ask simply to be used.” – Blessed John Henry Newman
May we all be His blind instruments!
That sounds like a book I need to read. Pray with, I mean.
I can totally relate with the need to know the big plan and wanting to follow. This was in my devotion and I found it very helpful too.
Like the children of Judah, we, too, have a choice. We can measure the significance of our lives by the size of our accomplishments, or we can trust God to use our small offerings for His great glory.
As for me, I think I’ll ask God to renew my passion for this ordinary, laundry-folding-carpooling life that I live. ’Cause there’s a broken scooter in my garage that reminds me that the small stuff just might be a big deal after all!
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for trying to measure my significance by the size of my accomplishments. I want to serve You with all of my heart in big ways and small ways. Give me fresh passion for my daily grind and help me to glorify You in all that I do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters …” (NIV)
Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (NIV)