My heart today is like a desert, Lord, but I trust in Your promise that even in my dryness, streams of living water can spring forth.
Sometimes I expect great, loud answers, but You speak to me differently. You do not give me theoretical explanations, but invite me to watch and to listen. You invite me to observe Your works in the world and in my own life.
You do not answer with words, but with deeds
Your answer is an act of love. Where there was darkness, You bring light. Where there was despair, You sow hope. Your presence changes everything, just as the prophet promised.
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Lord, I ask You, open my spiritual eyes, that I may see how You are still working these miracles today. Help me to recognize Your hand in everyday events, the hand that heals, liberates, and transforms my desert into a flowering garden. May I not stumble at Your simplicity and hiddenness.
Grant me the courage of John the Baptist, who was not a reed shaken by the wind, but a firm rock of faith. His call to repentance applies to me today as well.
“and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'” (Matthew 3:2)
May I be like John, a herald of Your way
Lord, John was more than a prophet. He was a messenger, the friend of the bridegroom, who prepared the way for You. His life was the fulfillment of a promise.
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)
His mission was not directed toward himself, but entirely toward You. With his whole being, he pointed to You and recognized You in the crowd.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'” (John 1:29)
This is also my deepest desire, Lord: that my life, my words, and my actions might point to You. Grant me the grace of John’s humility, that I may know how to step aside and give You the first place.
“He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)
May this sentence be the guide for my day today. May everything within me that is not of You decrease—my pride, my fears, my selfish desires—so that You, Jesus, may grow and work in me and through me.
Amen.
AMEN!!!!
Amen