Faith Reflections

One Thing that is Certain

If someone were to ask you, ‘What is the one thing in life that is certain?’ you would have to answer, ‘The love of Christ.’ – Brennan Manning

Enjoying the sun

This truth is the one thing that helps me the most in life. When I start to get out-of-whack with hopes and expectations in people or ideas, God brings me back to this truth – the one thing in life that is certain is the love of Christ. Not parents, not family, not friends. Not knowledge, not adventure, not money. Not self-understanding, not significant others, not possibilities. The foundation of my life must be the love of Christ or I risk being tossed about by the storms that come or even a slight, beautiful breeze that gently turns my head in another direction.

My life phrase for 2013 is “Enjoy Me!”. I’ve discovered that the biggest part of making this a reality is trusting God. I must have a child-like trust that God is who God says He is and that God will do what He says He will do. In ruthlessly trusting God, I will be freed to truly enjoy God and our life together as we love one another and others.

There is absolutely nothing easy about what I just typed. I don’t have an easy 3 step plan to fully trusting God and I think that is the whole point. It seems to be more of a daily surrendering to God as I shift from making self-conscious efforts to be good to allowing myself to be loved as I am. It is a daily choice to sit quietly in His presence and fix my eyes on Him because I love Him. And under his gaze, God transfigures me into His likeness allowing my life to shine brighter and more beautiful as He fills me.

Maybe one day I won’t have to will this each day. Maybe one day it will be so knitted into my soul that I don’t even realize I’m doing it. Until then, I am grateful for every thing or person that falls short of my expectations because it reminds me of the one thing that is certain – the love of Christ.

Abba, I surrender my will and my life to you today, without reservation and with humble confidence for you are my loving Father. Set me free from self-consciousness, from anxiety about tomorrow, and from the tyranny of the approval and disapproval of others, that I may find joy and delight simply and solely in pleasing you. May my inner freedom be a compelling sign of your presence, your peace, your power and your love. Let your plan for my life and the lives of all your children gracefully unfold one day at a time. I love you with all my heart, and I place all my confidence in you, for you are my Abba. Amen. – Brennan Manning

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.