To Live Under the Blessing

Let us use this time of fear and chaos as we evaluate our hearts. Are you living under the blessings of God or the curse of the Evil one? Have you truly claimed the sacredness of your being? 

Maybe it’s time to befriend ourselves, but we first must acknowledge the truth of ourselves. We are rich, but also poor, beautiful but also limited, generous but also worried about our security. Yet beyond all of this we are spark of the divine. 

God sent His Son to suffer and die for our sake, not in despair, not as the rejected one but as the Beloved Child of God. Maybe, just maybe we can use this season to see the circular pattern of love here.

As we sacrifice out of love for God and neighbor, we grow more in love with God and neighbor. Our small sacrifices of love and mercy for God and neighbor bear the fruits of mercy, love and joy, perhaps in ways we don’t realize. 

May our hearts be prepared to “burst in love” as we go into solitude, silence and prayer. This sacred place is not a place of self-analyzing but a place of thanksgiving, praise and adoration. Do you not see this beautiful drama? 

You are part of a bigger story, the story of love. As Christ suffered and died, not in despair, not as the rejected one, but as the BELOVED CHILD OF GOD.

From the moment he heard his Father’s voice say “You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests,” he lived his life as a love story, the story that was riddled with pain and suffering but UNDER the Blessing of His Father. He knew that even when everyone would run away from him, his Father would never leave him. 

Let us use this time to know our true nature! You love (yes you!) are one of God’s beloved sons and daughters. When we, like Christ, live our suffering under the Blessing, even the greatest pain and suffering, even death will lead us NOT into despair but deeper into the life-giving and forgiving heart of God. 

For us, the greatest temptation in a time of crisis is to lose touch with the Blessing. To believe the lie that we are not loved, when we reflect on ourselves as living under a curse, when we think we are “no good” our suffering will lead us to despair and our death cannot give life. Let us use this time of crisis to lead us to “live loved!” as God’s Beloved! 

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.”‘ (Isaiah 41:13, NIV)