Are you involved in a situation right now that seems to have no solution? Is God calling you to greater service, or deeper trust and obedience? Don’t give up the fight of faith! Don’t let the world reduce your vision! Remember St. Joseph and hold fast to God’s promises even in the face of incredible odds.
“Father, fill me with the faith of Abraham and Joseph. Move me to repentance as you moved King David. Teach me, Father, to hear your voice and obey you in all things.”
His words for me today ...
Even Jesus felt abandoned as he tasted the depths of our alienation from the Father (Matthew 27:46). Yet he clung to what he knew to be the truth. At what looked like his moment of utter defeat, he confidently placed his life into his Father’s hands (Luke 23:46). Just before today’s Gospel, he declares that no one can snatch us from those strong, capable hands (John 10:28).
Whatever the outward circumstances of your life, whatever your feelings of discouragement, anchor yourself in this humbling, awe inspiring, overwhelming truth: The Lord of heaven and earth has chosen to make his home in you!
“Almighty God, your only Son is alive in me! Let me draw on the power of his love every moment of every day.”
Readings
In everything he does in us, God’s one goal is to make us strong in faith. Today’s reading from the Book of Daniel gives us a lesson in how faith can grow through testing. According to the story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were companions of the prophet Daniel during the time of Babylonian captivity. When Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, issued a decree that all his subjects must bow down before a golden idol, these three men were not afraid to face the consequences of their refusal. Enraged, the king threw them into a furnace that was stoked sevenfold to make the flames murderously intense. Yet these three heroes escaped unharmed, and the king acknowledged Yahweh as the one true God.God wants us to trust that he is always with us, especially when we face trial and difficulty. Satan, our enemy, wants to rob us of our confidence. He wants to suggest doubts and fears to us so that we would abandon our trust in God. But the promise remains that God can turn every trial into an opportunity for revealing his faithfulness and power.
We all face struggles: times of weakness and temptation, the loss of something we cherish, the disappointment of personal failure, or the death of a loved one. God wants to make use of these times of sorrow and stress to purify our faith and draw us closer into communion with him. It’s in our trials that we experience most clearly that our strength does not come from ourselves but from God, who will never abandon us.
If we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord as these three men did, nothing ever has to separate us from God. St. Teresa of Avila kept the following verse as a bookmark in her breviary: “Let nothing trouble you. Let nothing frighten you. All is fleeting. God alone is unchanging. Patience obtains everything. The one who possesses God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.” Similarly, Peter described the Christian faith as something “more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire” (1 Peter 1:7). Let’s ask the Lord to give us a strong faith that can endure any trial, and to fill us with a joy that never forgets his abiding presence.
“Lord, I surrender my life into your hands. Let nothing keep me from the joy of your loving presence.”
(Psalm) Daniel 3:52-56; John 8:31-42
