Thursday of the First Week
Reflection
Reflection
Today’s readings really show us how God will be there for us in our lives when we call upon Him in need. Too often, we get swept up in a fast- paced world where we all too easily push the assistance of God aside and try to tackle our problems on our own. These readings show us that God wants to be there for us. He wants to take on our problems and show us the way out. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said to His disciples, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” God isn’t trying to hide what He wants to do for us. These readings show us how truly easy it is to call upon God every day of our lives. He encourages us to call upon Him and will be there whenever we do call.
It’s hard to let go and let God. We want to tackle our problems, because we want quick fixes rather than having patience and faith to place them in the hands of our Lord. All too often we try to find our own solutions and come up short. In the first reading, we see Queen Esther call upon the Lord in her time of need. “As a child, I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that You, O Lord, always free those who are pleasing to You. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but You, O Lord, my God.” Let us learn from Esther and call upon the Lord, not just when we need Him the most, but in all the days of our lives.
Prayer
Lord, help us see that Your path is the right path. Show us Your ways and encourage us to call upon You in our times of need. We cannot handle the pressures and problems that our world throws in our lives on our own. Help us trust that You are holding us in the palm of Your hands and to be grateful for what we have been given every single day. Strengthen our faith, grant us patience, and help us spread peace in a troubled world. Amen.
Melissa Morrison, ‘13
Scripture
First Reading: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Psalm 138:1-3, 7c-8
Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12
Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing Melissa! This reminds me of a blog post that Jackie Thurnauer recently wrote about: "when you pray for something, God often presents you with opportunities, not answers. So when you pray for patience, you are handed an opportunity to practice your patience, not necessarily the patience itself." It is so easy to try to get the quick fix and handle it ourselves, but we need to call on God and trust that he will be with us through it all, but sometimes in unexpected ways!
Beautifully done, Melissa. I needed to hear this today.
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