Thursday, February 28, 2019

New Nouwen Meditation: You Belong to God

DAILY MEDITATION | FEBRUARY 28, 2019
You Belong to God
You are not what you do, although you do a lot. You are not what you have collected in terms of friendships and connections, although you might have many. You are not the popularity that you have received. You are not the success of your work. You are not what people say about you, whether they speak well or whether they speak poorly about you. All these things that keep you quite busy, quite occupied, and often quite preoccupied are not telling the truth about who you are. I am here to remind you in the name of God that you are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God, and that God says to you, “I have called you from all eternity and you are engraved from all eternity in the palms of my hands. You are mine. You belong to me, and I love you with an everlasting love.”
"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me."

PSALM 13:5,6 (NIV)
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Wednesday, February 27, 2019

New Nouwen Meditation: God's Kingdom Is Within

DAILY MEDITATION | FEBRUARY 27, 2019
God's Kingdom is Within
The words of Jesus "Set your hearts on God's kingdom first . . . and all other things will be given you as well" summarize best the way we are called to live our lives. With our hearts set on God's kingdom. That kingdom is not some faraway land that we hope to reach, nor is it life after death or an ideal state of affairs. No. God's Kingdom is, first of all, the active presence of God's Spirit within us, offering us the freedom we truly desire.

And so the main question becomes: how do we set our hearts on the Kingdom first when our hearts are preoccupied with so many things? Somehow a radical change of heart is required, a change that allows us to experience the reality of our existence from God's place.
However, as it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:9,10 (NIV)
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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

New Nouwen Meditation: Burnout

DAILY MEDITATION | FEBRUARY 26, 2019
Burnout
Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don’t you often hope: “May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship fulfill my deepest desire”? But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burnout.
"Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

PSALM 61:1-2 (NIV)
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