Yesterday in church we prayed for all those at General Assembly (GA). Commissioners come from all over the place, small towns and large cities, as we know, since one of our own is our presbytery’s YAAD (Young Adult Advisory Delegate). We prayed for them to have discernment of the leading of the Holy Spirit as they make decisions together as a body. That kind of endeavor with so many thousands of people together is hard work. They will have to listen to one another and be open to one another so that they might understand what is the mind of Christ in any given situation.

In reality, this is no different than our own discernment in every day life. We have to listen all the time. We listen to our bodies to know when they need rest or refreshment, we listen to our tasks and responsibilities to understand what kind of work we need to do, we listen to our relationships in order to learn what we can do to help each other and love each other better. We do all this listening while we are also listening to God’s call in our own lives. Day by day we seek to follow Jesus Christ, and we know we can do so only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some days are harder than other days. We may not even be confident that we are following God. It is with joy, then, that we can remember that the gift of the Holy Spirit is with us always, with GA this week, and with us in our lives in the coming days. Whether we are confident or wavering, we can still seek God’s wisdom. Thomas Merton, our brother in Christ, shared his own prayer for guidance:

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me

Nor do I really know myself,

And the fact that I think I am following your will

Does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

Does in fact please you.

And I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this,

You will lead me by the right road

Though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though

I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

And you will never leave me to face my struggles alone.

Amen.

Blessings to you all,

Michelle

~ by feast4thought on July 5, 2010.

Posted in Monday Morning Meditation