"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
Doesn't this verse of the Lord's Prayer prefigure Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? where, the night before his crucifixion, Jesus, with great agony, let go of all his - and the world's - fear of letting go?
That night he gave his life in complete trust to his Father's will, knowing that his Father's will for him was God-being-Spirit not matter, God-being-Life not death, God-being-Love not hate, accepting that the Great I Am is the only Ego, the only will, the only real power - contrary to (in fact, in spite of) everything the world around him and his human senses were telling him.
Here is the scripture (Luke 22:39-52; 63-69):
39And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
40And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
41And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
46And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
47And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
48But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
49When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
50And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
51And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
52Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
...
63And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him.
64And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
65And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.
66And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying,
67Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
68And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
Though Jesus suffered "a felon's fate," his healing had already occured before his crucifixion. He knew where his life was hid and Who the only real power is. His resurrection was assured that night in the Garden when he completely let go of any sense of human will and acknowledged only God's will completely.
Jesus knew, as no one else did, that God's power - Life's power - is actually the only will, the only real power there is. And he knew that malice, envy, hate, fear, sin, sickness, even death - have no power of their own to harm God or God's image and likeness. Why? because they are not God's will.
And he "proved them powerless" when 3 days later the stone rolled away from the tomb, the grave clothes were laid aside, and Jesus walked out of that burial of mind in matter, of will-power in matter, of Ego in matter, proving his only true being to be his God-likeness, his Christliness, his God-being.
This verse of our Lord's prayer can save you in just the same way. No matter what you are facing, your prayer can also be "Enable us to know this same thing Christ knows, that, as in heaven, so on earth, God - God's good will - is the only real will there is, and God's will is omnipotent, supreme."
"...the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."
"This is the true God, and eternal life."
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Thy will be done & desire (part 3)
From Webster's Second Edition, the definition of Will:
1. The act or process of volition; specifically:
(a) wish; desire; longing
(b) inclination; disposition; pleasure
2. Something wished by a person, especially by one with power or authority; specifically
(a) a request
(b) a command; decree
Stop and consider what this means, in relation to the 4th verse of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Using the words in the definition, this verse could be rendered:
"Thy desire be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Or perhaps (considering Mrs. Eddy's concept that "desire is prayer") even:
"Thy prayer be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Think of this: if you honestly are praying this verse with all your heart, you are praying to see God's will, His desire to be done right here where you are, to be done right here on earth just like His will is done in heaven.
And what is God's will for you, His desire for you? Isn't it that you be like Him? That you be whole, and holy? That you understand that you are actually the image of Love - loving, lovable, loved? That you live that truth and grow outward and upward with vigor, freshness, and bliss?
God's will for you is always good, because He, by His very nature, is Good. In fact, His will for you, His wish for you, His desire for you, His prayer for you is not just earthly good. It is heavenly Good!
So when you pray this verse, you are opening up your heart to God's prayer for you. You are trusting your desires, your prayers to Him, so that they may lose their "earthiness" and be molded and exalted to reflect His heavenly good will for you. You actually start to pray (and mean it): "Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme."
Trust your desires to God. Let that trust move you to listen to Him. Let Him mold your will to His. Let Him exalt you, awaken you to who you really are: already complete, already like Him, already His perfect spiritual image and likeness.
As you begin to think and act from that standpoint, you begin to understand that His kingdom is already come, His will is already done, that
"...the kingdom of God is within you" - already within you, naturally. Right here. Right now.
1. The act or process of volition; specifically:
(a) wish; desire; longing
(b) inclination; disposition; pleasure
2. Something wished by a person, especially by one with power or authority; specifically
(a) a request
(b) a command; decree
Stop and consider what this means, in relation to the 4th verse of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Using the words in the definition, this verse could be rendered:
"Thy desire be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Or perhaps (considering Mrs. Eddy's concept that "desire is prayer") even:
"Thy prayer be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Think of this: if you honestly are praying this verse with all your heart, you are praying to see God's will, His desire to be done right here where you are, to be done right here on earth just like His will is done in heaven.
And what is God's will for you, His desire for you? Isn't it that you be like Him? That you be whole, and holy? That you understand that you are actually the image of Love - loving, lovable, loved? That you live that truth and grow outward and upward with vigor, freshness, and bliss?
God's will for you is always good, because He, by His very nature, is Good. In fact, His will for you, His wish for you, His desire for you, His prayer for you is not just earthly good. It is heavenly Good!
So when you pray this verse, you are opening up your heart to God's prayer for you. You are trusting your desires, your prayers to Him, so that they may lose their "earthiness" and be molded and exalted to reflect His heavenly good will for you. You actually start to pray (and mean it): "Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme."
Trust your desires to God. Let that trust move you to listen to Him. Let Him mold your will to His. Let Him exalt you, awaken you to who you really are: already complete, already like Him, already His perfect spiritual image and likeness.
As you begin to think and act from that standpoint, you begin to understand that His kingdom is already come, His will is already done, that
"...the kingdom of God is within you" - already within you, naturally. Right here. Right now.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Thy will be done & desire (part 2)
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
"Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds."
Desire itself is a form of prayer. Desire as in that yearning, that longing, that wishfulness, that watchfulness for something better, higher, holier, that dissatisfaction with the status quo, that unwillingness to sit still and stay silent. Where do you suppose that stirring comes from? What makes you want something more real and solid? What impells you to move? What awakens you to push the boundaries, to go above and beyond the life you already know, the hunger already fed, the love you already feel?
It can only come from one place, whether you understand it clearly or not: "The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man."
But the Bible warns you: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:"
Why would you want to "try (test) the spirit" of your desire? For the same reason you'd want to avoid accepting a counterfeit $100 bill - to avoid being suckered into accepting nothing as something. Would you really want to accept a counterfiet $100 bill? Would you want to go through the hassle of dealing with the reprecussions of that? or of wasting the time straightening out that kind of situation? Could you afford losing something like a real $100 for a fake $100?
No.
So how do you "try (test) the spirit" of your desire to make sure it's not a fake?
Firstly, be honest about it. Mrs. Eddy makes this astute observation: "Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness." You can lie to others, but don't kid yourself that you can lie to God. You cannot. Be honest with God about your desires. He loves you and His will for you is only good. Trust Him to open your deepest desires in a way that will be perfect for you - and a true reflection of Him.
Secondly, there are at least few ways - and probably many more - that you can "try" your desires to see if they are authentic to your true nature, such as:
1. is the desire persistent?
2. is the desire a little scarey? does it push your comfort zone?
3. does it feel somehow intuitively authentic and real - even if it seems unattainable?
4. does it make you want to grow in new ways?
5. does it make you want to give? and does it also make you want to receive?
6. does it impell you to exercise your talents - the things you love doing, that express your natural abilities and strengths?
7. does it nag at you to learn and live your real life-purpose?
Such desire is the Holy Spirit stirring you, awakening you, driving you forward to fulfill His will "in earth as it is in heaven." God is never content to leave you sleeping and dreaming away your existence. The Holy Spirit insists on movement. It insists on breathing deeply the fresh air of inspiration and growth. The wind blows, the Spirit moves, and things begin to change. Desire is the awakening in your heart of Emmanuel - God-with-us.
Sometimes your desire is clouded over with the debris of your old ways of thinking and old ways of seeing yourself and others. But even so, even if you're not sure if the desire is real or fake, you can still reach down deep and sincerely hand it over to God.
Sometimes you may need to hand it over repeatedly and persistently. Sometimes you can just offer it up in prayer once and you'll feel OK about it. But either way, you can always trust your desires to God.
You will likely find your passing fancies lose their luster. The counterfeit $100 gets exposed for the worthless thing it is. This is a good - even if sometimes painful - sign.
You might also find that your genuine desires start to blossom in unexpected ways. Opportunities will be put in front of you repeatedly that exercise your newly answered prayers. As your thought opens up about your desires, you take a step and then another, and another, and another, and the doubts begin to fade and you begin to realize you have the ability to live your desires - that your prayers are being answered by your living them.
Trusting God to help you, you will find the courage to keep taking those steps. And a new world will open up, and you will find your life more loving and yourself more loved, and your work more blessed and more of a blessing to others. Your life will be glorifying God - making Him and His perfect will, manifest.
So test this out. Be honest about your desires. Treat them as the prayer that they are. Offer them to God. Let the fakes fall away (good riddance) and treasure the true. And you can be sure that God will mold you and exalt you, and answer your desires, your prayers, in a way that fulfills His heavenly will for you, right where you are right now, in ways more wonderful than you ever thought possible or even expected.
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
"Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds."
Desire itself is a form of prayer. Desire as in that yearning, that longing, that wishfulness, that watchfulness for something better, higher, holier, that dissatisfaction with the status quo, that unwillingness to sit still and stay silent. Where do you suppose that stirring comes from? What makes you want something more real and solid? What impells you to move? What awakens you to push the boundaries, to go above and beyond the life you already know, the hunger already fed, the love you already feel?
It can only come from one place, whether you understand it clearly or not: "The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man."
But the Bible warns you: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:"
Why would you want to "try (test) the spirit" of your desire? For the same reason you'd want to avoid accepting a counterfeit $100 bill - to avoid being suckered into accepting nothing as something. Would you really want to accept a counterfiet $100 bill? Would you want to go through the hassle of dealing with the reprecussions of that? or of wasting the time straightening out that kind of situation? Could you afford losing something like a real $100 for a fake $100?
No.
So how do you "try (test) the spirit" of your desire to make sure it's not a fake?
Firstly, be honest about it. Mrs. Eddy makes this astute observation: "Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness." You can lie to others, but don't kid yourself that you can lie to God. You cannot. Be honest with God about your desires. He loves you and His will for you is only good. Trust Him to open your deepest desires in a way that will be perfect for you - and a true reflection of Him.
Secondly, there are at least few ways - and probably many more - that you can "try" your desires to see if they are authentic to your true nature, such as:
1. is the desire persistent?
2. is the desire a little scarey? does it push your comfort zone?
3. does it feel somehow intuitively authentic and real - even if it seems unattainable?
4. does it make you want to grow in new ways?
5. does it make you want to give? and does it also make you want to receive?
6. does it impell you to exercise your talents - the things you love doing, that express your natural abilities and strengths?
7. does it nag at you to learn and live your real life-purpose?
Such desire is the Holy Spirit stirring you, awakening you, driving you forward to fulfill His will "in earth as it is in heaven." God is never content to leave you sleeping and dreaming away your existence. The Holy Spirit insists on movement. It insists on breathing deeply the fresh air of inspiration and growth. The wind blows, the Spirit moves, and things begin to change. Desire is the awakening in your heart of Emmanuel - God-with-us.
Sometimes your desire is clouded over with the debris of your old ways of thinking and old ways of seeing yourself and others. But even so, even if you're not sure if the desire is real or fake, you can still reach down deep and sincerely hand it over to God.
Sometimes you may need to hand it over repeatedly and persistently. Sometimes you can just offer it up in prayer once and you'll feel OK about it. But either way, you can always trust your desires to God.
You will likely find your passing fancies lose their luster. The counterfeit $100 gets exposed for the worthless thing it is. This is a good - even if sometimes painful - sign.
You might also find that your genuine desires start to blossom in unexpected ways. Opportunities will be put in front of you repeatedly that exercise your newly answered prayers. As your thought opens up about your desires, you take a step and then another, and another, and another, and the doubts begin to fade and you begin to realize you have the ability to live your desires - that your prayers are being answered by your living them.
Trusting God to help you, you will find the courage to keep taking those steps. And a new world will open up, and you will find your life more loving and yourself more loved, and your work more blessed and more of a blessing to others. Your life will be glorifying God - making Him and His perfect will, manifest.
So test this out. Be honest about your desires. Treat them as the prayer that they are. Offer them to God. Let the fakes fall away (good riddance) and treasure the true. And you can be sure that God will mold you and exalt you, and answer your desires, your prayers, in a way that fulfills His heavenly will for you, right where you are right now, in ways more wonderful than you ever thought possible or even expected.
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Thy will be done & Jesus (part 1)
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
What better way to "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" than to pray Jesus' own prayer?
Isn't the Lord's Prayer the most beautiful intimate insight we have into Jesus' healing Christly consciousness? It is his practice made plain. It shows us how he prayed - and how he healed. It shows us how he communed with his Father, how Jesus lived His heavenly will right where the earthly dream seems to be.
And it shows you how he expects you to do he same - to have that same conciousness of God that he had, to have that Mind that he had, and to go and do likewise: be God's child, His expression, His Being made manifest, His Love made felt, His wholeness and holiness and healing made real - His heavenly will being done right where you are - in you, through you, as you - no matter what your earthly circumstances, always causing you to be blessed and to be a blessing to everyone around you.
How?
Praying the Lord's Prayer understandingly enables you to know that, as in heaven, so right here in earth, God - and God's perfect will - really are omnipotent, supreme.
Remember how Jesus saw God's perfect heavenly will in action:
"Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."
The Mind that was in Christ Jesus sees only God's perfect will for His creation. Jesus' correct view grew out of that consciousness. And it not only healed the sick, it reformed the sinner, redeemed the self-willful, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, fed the 5000, and gave us the Lord's Prayer.
Do you think Jesus would have seen you any differently?
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
What better way to "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" than to pray Jesus' own prayer?
Isn't the Lord's Prayer the most beautiful intimate insight we have into Jesus' healing Christly consciousness? It is his practice made plain. It shows us how he prayed - and how he healed. It shows us how he communed with his Father, how Jesus lived His heavenly will right where the earthly dream seems to be.
And it shows you how he expects you to do he same - to have that same conciousness of God that he had, to have that Mind that he had, and to go and do likewise: be God's child, His expression, His Being made manifest, His Love made felt, His wholeness and holiness and healing made real - His heavenly will being done right where you are - in you, through you, as you - no matter what your earthly circumstances, always causing you to be blessed and to be a blessing to everyone around you.
How?
Praying the Lord's Prayer understandingly enables you to know that, as in heaven, so right here in earth, God - and God's perfect will - really are omnipotent, supreme.
Remember how Jesus saw God's perfect heavenly will in action:
"Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."
The Mind that was in Christ Jesus sees only God's perfect will for His creation. Jesus' correct view grew out of that consciousness. And it not only healed the sick, it reformed the sinner, redeemed the self-willful, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, fed the 5000, and gave us the Lord's Prayer.
Do you think Jesus would have seen you any differently?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Thy will be done & desire (part 1)
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
"Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." - Mary Baker Eddy
Isn't turning your will, your deepest desire - which really is your most sincere prayer - over to God a way of yielding to His will? Isn't it a way of letting His will be done in earth - your current human experience - as it is in heaven - your actual spiritual identity as His perfect image and likeness?
And if so, wouldn't that imply that God's will for you on earth is as beautiful as His will is for you in heaven?
And if so, couldn't you trust your most secret heart-felt even unspoken yearnings over to Him? Especially if you knew that to do so would only mean that they would be molded and exalted for you? So that they would be clarified and purified and beautified for you before you experience them? Wouldn't that be a good thing? Wouldn't that be letting God's will be done in your heart as it is in His?
But, honestly, you're kidding yourself if you think that yielding your desires to God is easy. It often isn't. In fact, how often are you even honest with yourself about your innermost desires? How easy it even to trust yourself with your own deepest feelings and needs and wants?
But here in this verse, Jesus is encouraging you to take that step of trust with God. You can do it. You can let go of your will, your attempts to control your life, your love, lust, your status, talents, paycheck, companionship, family, safety, duties and obligations, your fulfillment, your life, your joy.
And notice something important: Mrs. Eddy said "Desire is prayer." She didn't put qualifiers on it. She didn't say "good desire" or "spiritual desire" or "righteous desire." Mrs. Eddy said "Desire is prayer." Desire itself is a form of prayer. All desire is a form of prayer. In fact, it's probably the most sincere form of prayer there is because, in essence, it's wordless. It's what you feel. It's what you yearn for.
So who are you praying to? who are you trusting your desires to? A bottle? a body? a drug? food? adreneline? solitude? entertainment? ritual? fear? shiny objects? Are you trusting your desire - your prayer - to these "gods"? Then you may be asking amiss.
Do you think you can only bring your nice polite desires to God? Do you think God can't handle your mean selfish lusty passionate crazy desires? that you can't trust Him with those? You can - if you are prepared to be molded and exalted! Because you will be.
Remember Jesus, who companioned with sinners, walked with outcasts, who touched lepers. He "molded and exalted" the desires of anyone who turned to him, who asked him for help, who trusted in him. Molded, how? in the image of God. Exalted, how? He "lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow" (as Mrs. Eddy states it), and his correct view of God's will in their lives healed every one of them.
And God still does the same thing. For you. Now. Jesus' prayer promises you that.
As the old saying goes, you can let go and let God. You can let God's perfect will for you grow in your heart. Let His perfect purpose for you emerge gently in your life. Let it awaken you to clearer views of what your desires are really telling you. Even let it even "explode in a fury of blossom!" as the poet says.
To trust your desires to God is to connect with Him in the most fundamental way. "...and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires..." Why? Because God is Love itself. God's will for you in earth is exactly the same as His will for you in heaven: it is perfection, wholeness, unity, authenticity, bliss. It is total goodness. As it says in Philippians: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
And notice that it's God's good pleasure that works in you. Not His burdensome pleasure or His boring pleasure or His unsatisfying pleasure! So take that step. Trust your will, your yearning, your deepest desires to God. Let Him mold and exalt them - purify, clarify, and enthuse you about them. As you do, you'll find His will becomes your will. And you will find that it is a joyful thing. You'll find reflecting God's will is indeed a good pleasure.
Then this verse in Psalms will start ringing true for you:
"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Because God enables us to know, as in heaven, so on earth His will is omnipotent, supreme - and supremely good for you, everyone around you, and, in fact, everyone in the universe.
Enable us to know, as in heaven, so on earth, God is omnipotent, supreme.
"Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." - Mary Baker Eddy
Isn't turning your will, your deepest desire - which really is your most sincere prayer - over to God a way of yielding to His will? Isn't it a way of letting His will be done in earth - your current human experience - as it is in heaven - your actual spiritual identity as His perfect image and likeness?
And if so, wouldn't that imply that God's will for you on earth is as beautiful as His will is for you in heaven?
And if so, couldn't you trust your most secret heart-felt even unspoken yearnings over to Him? Especially if you knew that to do so would only mean that they would be molded and exalted for you? So that they would be clarified and purified and beautified for you before you experience them? Wouldn't that be a good thing? Wouldn't that be letting God's will be done in your heart as it is in His?
But, honestly, you're kidding yourself if you think that yielding your desires to God is easy. It often isn't. In fact, how often are you even honest with yourself about your innermost desires? How easy it even to trust yourself with your own deepest feelings and needs and wants?
But here in this verse, Jesus is encouraging you to take that step of trust with God. You can do it. You can let go of your will, your attempts to control your life, your love, lust, your status, talents, paycheck, companionship, family, safety, duties and obligations, your fulfillment, your life, your joy.
And notice something important: Mrs. Eddy said "Desire is prayer." She didn't put qualifiers on it. She didn't say "good desire" or "spiritual desire" or "righteous desire." Mrs. Eddy said "Desire is prayer." Desire itself is a form of prayer. All desire is a form of prayer. In fact, it's probably the most sincere form of prayer there is because, in essence, it's wordless. It's what you feel. It's what you yearn for.
So who are you praying to? who are you trusting your desires to? A bottle? a body? a drug? food? adreneline? solitude? entertainment? ritual? fear? shiny objects? Are you trusting your desire - your prayer - to these "gods"? Then you may be asking amiss.
Do you think you can only bring your nice polite desires to God? Do you think God can't handle your mean selfish lusty passionate crazy desires? that you can't trust Him with those? You can - if you are prepared to be molded and exalted! Because you will be.
Remember Jesus, who companioned with sinners, walked with outcasts, who touched lepers. He "molded and exalted" the desires of anyone who turned to him, who asked him for help, who trusted in him. Molded, how? in the image of God. Exalted, how? He "lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow" (as Mrs. Eddy states it), and his correct view of God's will in their lives healed every one of them.
And God still does the same thing. For you. Now. Jesus' prayer promises you that.
As the old saying goes, you can let go and let God. You can let God's perfect will for you grow in your heart. Let His perfect purpose for you emerge gently in your life. Let it awaken you to clearer views of what your desires are really telling you. Even let it even "explode in a fury of blossom!" as the poet says.
To trust your desires to God is to connect with Him in the most fundamental way. "...and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires..." Why? Because God is Love itself. God's will for you in earth is exactly the same as His will for you in heaven: it is perfection, wholeness, unity, authenticity, bliss. It is total goodness. As it says in Philippians: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
And notice that it's God's good pleasure that works in you. Not His burdensome pleasure or His boring pleasure or His unsatisfying pleasure! So take that step. Trust your will, your yearning, your deepest desires to God. Let Him mold and exalt them - purify, clarify, and enthuse you about them. As you do, you'll find His will becomes your will. And you will find that it is a joyful thing. You'll find reflecting God's will is indeed a good pleasure.
Then this verse in Psalms will start ringing true for you:
"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Because God enables us to know, as in heaven, so on earth His will is omnipotent, supreme - and supremely good for you, everyone around you, and, in fact, everyone in the universe.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
When your heart is troubled...
... go where it is safe. Go where everything is good and true. Go home to God, the kingdom of heaven, your only true home.
How?
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:"
Yes, start by doing something that is oh so simple but oh so powerful: count your blessings.
Why?
Because this directive from Psalms is literally true. Giving God thanks is a powerful step into coming home to Him. It opens the door of your thought to Him. It shifts your perspectives off of your trouble and onto His truth. And a wise minister once said: "Take your thoughts off your circumstances and keep them on the Lord."
Gratitude changes your point of view so you can see how close God is to you. Counting your blessings wakes you up to not just the cup half full, but the cup that's running over. It shows you that God is already present in your life. It draws your thoughts and heart nearer to Him. And the Bible promises: "Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you."
So do it. Count your blessings. And be honest about it. Honor every good and Godlike thing in your life. And you'll find yourself entering into that place - that state of consciousness - where it is always safe, where you are always welcomed, where you really live: God's kingdom, God's presence.
Let your spiritual sense, your intuition, your gratitude, guide you, open doors, let in fresh views of your life, shift your perspective, awaken you. Express your yearning with hopefulness - with the expectancy that your intuitions about God's goodness are actually true (because they are). Be faithful to your expectancy. Don't mock it. Don't discount your blessings. Rejoice in them. Feel that rejoicing. Allow it inspire your prayer with a spiritual - instead of doctrinal - understanding of what faithfulness means.
As you do, you start to realize that your prayer (your shift in perspective) is bearing fruit: You snap out of it. You start to wake up. You start to know and recognize that God, good, really is already present and active in your life, right here where you are. Love is here. Spirit is here. Life is here!
You start to accept that, in His eyes, you're already whole and holy, that you are able to live your authentic likeness to God, that you are already safe in His presence, at home with Him. In fact, you start to sense that the only true state of being you have, ever did have, or ever will have, is blessed, is good - like God - because God actually did make you in His image and likeness.
How is this possible?
Because God's is really the only presence, the only power, and the only glory forever - because God is already here with you (as counting your blessings has begun to show you), and because God is all the power there is, because He is all the Life, Truth, Love there is, because God is over all - including you - and is, well, just All.
So give thanks, come in, and rejoice to be home. Gratitude has opened the door and this place, this home, this kingdom of heavenly consciousness, is where you're always safe with God.
How?
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:"
Yes, start by doing something that is oh so simple but oh so powerful: count your blessings.
Why?
Because this directive from Psalms is literally true. Giving God thanks is a powerful step into coming home to Him. It opens the door of your thought to Him. It shifts your perspectives off of your trouble and onto His truth. And a wise minister once said: "Take your thoughts off your circumstances and keep them on the Lord."
Gratitude changes your point of view so you can see how close God is to you. Counting your blessings wakes you up to not just the cup half full, but the cup that's running over. It shows you that God is already present in your life. It draws your thoughts and heart nearer to Him. And the Bible promises: "Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you."
So do it. Count your blessings. And be honest about it. Honor every good and Godlike thing in your life. And you'll find yourself entering into that place - that state of consciousness - where it is always safe, where you are always welcomed, where you really live: God's kingdom, God's presence.
Let your spiritual sense, your intuition, your gratitude, guide you, open doors, let in fresh views of your life, shift your perspective, awaken you. Express your yearning with hopefulness - with the expectancy that your intuitions about God's goodness are actually true (because they are). Be faithful to your expectancy. Don't mock it. Don't discount your blessings. Rejoice in them. Feel that rejoicing. Allow it inspire your prayer with a spiritual - instead of doctrinal - understanding of what faithfulness means.
As you do, you start to realize that your prayer (your shift in perspective) is bearing fruit: You snap out of it. You start to wake up. You start to know and recognize that God, good, really is already present and active in your life, right here where you are. Love is here. Spirit is here. Life is here!
You start to accept that, in His eyes, you're already whole and holy, that you are able to live your authentic likeness to God, that you are already safe in His presence, at home with Him. In fact, you start to sense that the only true state of being you have, ever did have, or ever will have, is blessed, is good - like God - because God actually did make you in His image and likeness.
How is this possible?
Because God's is really the only presence, the only power, and the only glory forever - because God is already here with you (as counting your blessings has begun to show you), and because God is all the power there is, because He is all the Life, Truth, Love there is, because God is over all - including you - and is, well, just All.
So give thanks, come in, and rejoice to be home. Gratitude has opened the door and this place, this home, this kingdom of heavenly consciousness, is where you're always safe with God.
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