Category: Spirituality

Spiritual Calm

Given that I profess to believe that

  • God is all good,
  • God is all loving,
  • God is all powerful,
  • God wants what is best for me,
  • And true happiness comes from following His will,

 

Then why am I not spiritually calm?

There can be many reasons, but let’s look at 4:

  1. We know what God wants, but we don’t do it. Even St. Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15 Maybe we fail to do what we should because of:
  • Resistance to change
    • Comfortable with what we know, we are satisfied with our current situation.
    • We’ve feel we’ve done enough and are good enough.
  • Fears, such as:
    • What He has in store for us will be painful.
    • Service will take time away from our families and their needs.
    • We won’t be good enough at what God asks us to do.
    • He might lead us to death like the martyrs.
  • Contrariness or choosing short-term over long-term gain
    • I don’t want to.
    • I don’t have time.
    • Maybe tomorrow.
  • Wounds from the past
    • Criticism, judgment, or belittling has left us with low self-confidence.
    • Accusations from others of being a goody-goody, showing off, or seeming self-righteous.
    • Continued focus on our weaknesses makes it hard to believe we can do what He asks.

 

With all the above excuses for not doing what we know we should, we must remind ourselves that our all-loving God wants what is best for us, and true happiness comes from following His will.

But there is another wound from the past…

  • Someone who represented God, or who pretended to, hurt us and/or someone we love.

In this case, imagine Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple. Or remember that Jesus was hardest on the Pharisees, the religious leaders. I believe the few examples of Jesus’ anger show He wants His church leaders to be Good Shepherds to His people, protecting the lambs rather than wounding them. I am so sorry you were hurt by the very people who should have shown you the most loving kindness. Please seek the healing you need to restore your spirit and know that, though we all are imperfect humans, this should not have happened to you.

2. The second reason we might not be spiritually calm is we don’t know what God’s will is. “But the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still, small voice.” 1 Kings 19:12

Sometimes we seek to choose between two options. If one (or both) were a bad thing, such as intentionally hurting an innocent person, we’d know it wasn’t God’s will. No dilemma Sometimes we seek to choose between two options. If one (or both) were a bad thing, such as intentionally hurting an innocent person, we’d know it wasn’t God’s will. No dilemma. But we might struggle to discern which direction God wants us to go when both are good choices, such as which career to follow, or whether to marry or consider a religious vocation as a single.

There is no substitute for prayer at these times, and even fasting. Consulting other trusted individuals who are wise mentors or counselors is helpful for pointing out areas you might have not considered, but the choice must be yours. Sincerely ask yourself if you really do know, but don’t want to admit it because of fear.

  • Imagine for a few days you’ve made choice A. How does it make you feel? Do the same with choice B.
  • If one choice seems more attractive, might it be that God is leading you by that attraction?
  • Would your strengths serve one choice better than the other? Might God have been preparing you for this choice by your life experiences, even the difficult ones?
  • Take time away from your routine to be free to think and pray through the decision. Ask God to lead you, and to redirect you if you are not making the choice He wants.

 

3. A third possibility is we are overwhelmed with non-spiritual matters. “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord.” Exodus 35:2

 

How balanced is your life? Have you set any boundaries that ensure time for spirituality, creativity, family closeness, or fun? Are you so tired that when you do have time, the only thing you have enough energy to do is sit in front of the TV? And then you fall asleep?

We are doing ourselves no favors by forgetting that God gave us one day each week to rest and refresh. On that day we should be enjoying our families, moving closer to Him through prayer or spiritual reading, and expressing our creative, fun side. Take one day a week, or start with part of a day, for growth and renewal. Snatch a few minutes each day for yourself. Don’t work through your vacation time. You need it. Your family needs it!

 

4. Perhaps we aren’t calm because our relationship with God is weak. How can we trust someone we don’t know?

 

Matthew Kelly writes about a very dependable way to deepen any relationship, be it with God, spouse, best friend, or children. He calls it, Carefree Timelessness. By this he means spending time without an agenda, simply to enjoy someone’s company. No matter what the relationship, increase carefree timelessness and it will deepen.

Remember being newly in love? How you could spend hours together without needing to accomplish anything? Remember the last time you felt really close to and connected with someone? Were you enjoying carefree timelessness? Probably so.

Spend some carefree timelessness with God. Visit Him in church, or sit in an easy chair near a window and turn your attention to Him. Recognize you are in His presence always and everywhere. Chat with Him. And listen.

 

I end this exploration of Calm with a disclaimer. Don’t expect to remain spiritually calm, even when you obey God’s nudges. We will find peace from obedience, but in my experience, it won’t be long before God nudges us back out of our new comfort zone and encourages us toward more growth. Then He will lead us to more joy!

Happy Easter!

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categories Calm, Spirituality | | datetime April 14, 2017 10:12 am | comments Comments Off on Spiritual Calm

Hope vs. Anxiety

Hope and a Future   I am thinking about Hope today. In 2010 I published a novel named Hope and a Future. It was based on the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.…” God promises a prosperous future. And yet I still worry. I don’t trust him enough.

    I have a good friend who went through an unwanted divorce a few years ago. I was amazed at her resilience throughout the process. She told me, “I just always figure things will work out well.” And they have for her. Though of course she is challenged by the unanticipated changes in her life, she dwells on the new independence she’s been given, not on what she has lost. Not on how different and unplanned her future will unfold from what she had expected. She exemplifies living with hope.
    It occurs to me, perhaps whenever I feel anxious (which is often—a trait that runs in our family) I’ve lost my sense of hope. I tend to want to plan ahead for what can go wrong, fooling myself that if I anticipate well enough, I can be in control and prevent disaster. I ought to look ahead and wonder what will go right. What unexpected delights are in store for me? How might the event I am nervous about actually turn out to be a gift and a joy? In other words, I need hope.
    What we fear, we can create. If I worry loved ones are becoming distant, I might pester them with a barrage of questions and intrude on their privacy. They will respond by keeping things from me and our relationship will suffer. I could cause what I feared. But if instead I remember God’s words, “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west (Isaiah 43.5),” I can place my cares in the Lord’s hands and with his help, I know I can be strong enough to handle the challenges ahead, and hope-filled enough to anticipate the delights he has in store for me.

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categories Fear, Spirituality | | datetime April 29, 2016 5:07 pm | comments Comments Off on Hope vs. Anxiety

Jubilee Year of Mercy

B hat borderedLent is here and it’s time for my weekly posts called 4 Minutes 4 Growth.

This Lent we will pursue the topic of Mercy in Relationships.

Pope Francis proclaimed this to be a Jubilee Year of Mercy. Let’s start with understanding this a bit better.

What is a Jubilee?

In the Old Testament, God proclaimed to Moses that every seven years a Sabbath year should be proclaimed when the land, and by extension its workers, should be given a rest. After seven Sabbath years, a fiftieth year would be proclaimed as a Year of Jubilee.

8 ” Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.” (Leviticus 25:8-12 NIV)

Here are some of the above elements broken down and suggestions for how to apply them today:

  • Day of Atonement – Forgive yourself. Forgive others’ debts to you. Ask for other’s forgiveness.
  • Sound the trumpet – Rejoice! Celebrate!
  • Consecrate the fiftieth year – Declare or set apart sacred time, a year to discover the better life God offers you.
  • Proclaim liberty throughout the land– Commit to release yourself and others from the shackles of injustice, addiction, dependence, negative habits, and attitudes.
  • A jubilee for you – Focus on yourself, for others.
  • Return to your family property – Slaves were freed in a Jubilee year and returned to their homes. Return to your homeland. Go home again and see what home can teach you about yourself. Or take a pilgrimage, pondering what has enslaved you, and how you can be freed.
  • Each to his own clan – Reunite with family, reconnect, make peace, reaffirm your roots.
  • Do not sow, reap, or harvest – Refuse to worry. Trust in God’s provision for what is necessary and even abundant.
  • Eat only what is taken directly from the fields – Subsist or simplify, so you have time to ponder.
  • For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you – Where is God in your life? First? What does holy mean to you? What would make this year holy?
  • For you – Realize what a gift God offers us in rest, forgiveness, celebration, family, and even work.

A few more notes on Jubilees:

In the Old Testament, a Jubilee year was a year of remission of sins, slavery, and debts, therefore, preeminently a time of joy.

Some believe that Jesus proclaimed a Jubilee year when he read from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” then rolled up the scroll and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:18-21

The Catholic Church has often proclaimed Jubilee Years, beginning in 1300. It symbolizes a Holy Year by un-bricking a particular door of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In 2000, Catholic Churches throughout the world celebrated the year as a Jubilee Holy Year. Each parish designated a particular door as their Holy Year Door in a campaign to Open Wide the Doors to Christ. Passing through a holy door harkens back to the idea of a guilty person asking for sanctuary or immunity from punishment by entering a church. Priests, nuns, and monks have long celebrated their Jubilees, or 50th anniversary of religious profession, and tenacious married couples celebrate a Golden Jubilee when they have been married 50 years.

The Jubilee 2000 Coalition petitioned the world to proclaim a Jubilee Year and cancel the debts of the earth’s poorest countries. Then-President Clinton offered a Jubilee debt forgiveness to Third World countries who would spend the money on children instead. Canada and England followed his lead.

Near the same time, the Coalition for Jubilee Clemency petitioned President Clinton to release, on supervised parole, Federal prisoners serving long sentences for low-level, nonviolent offenses.

So Pope Francis has asked the world to celebrate a Jubilee Year (a year of remission or pardon) based on Mercy. But…

What is mercy?

In the Merriam Webster dictionary, mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.

The Christian tradition, however, adds another element to the word, focusing on kindness or help given to people who are in a very bad situation, or a willingness to help anyone in need.

In the weeks ahead during this special, holy year, we will look at what mercy might mean in our relationships, whether relating to God, ourselves, our families, or our communities. Until next week’s email, think about what Mercy means to you and when you have granted it, denied it, or received it.

Blessings on your first week of Lent!

Betty Arrigotti
Author of Christian Love Stories:
  Hope and a Future (Oaktara 2010)
  Where Hope Leads (Oaktara 2012)
  When the Vow Breaks (CreateSpace 2015)




 


 


 


 


 



		

	
	
	
		

		 		 		  	
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categories Mercy in Relationships, Spirituality |   | datetime February 10, 2016 6:43 pm | comments Comments Off on Jubilee Year of Mercy 

			
			
 

		
				
		
		

		
		


	
	
	
	
			
	

		
	

	
	
 




	







 

	







	
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