Struggle with Reality

                   
                                               When The Door Slams

"Lord, hear my prayer, and listen to my cry.                                                                                         Do not ignore my tears. I am like a visitor with You.                                                                               Like my ancestors, I'm only here a short time.                                    
                                                                                              Psalm 39:12

       Can we carry the burden of reality? How can we remain open to all human tragedies and aware of our human world suffering without becoming mentally paralyzed and depressed? How can we live a healthy and creative life when we are constantly reminded of the fate of the millions who are poor, sick, hungry and persecuted? How can we even smile when we struggle with feelings of isolation and alienation.

       Think about this: Maybe, for the time being, we have to accept the many fluctuations between knowing and not knowing, seeing and not seeing, feeling and not feeling, between days in which the whole world seems like a rose garden and days in which our hearts seem tied to a millstone, between moments of ecstatic joy and moments of gloomy depression, between the humble confession that the internet holds more than our souls can bear and the realization that it is only through facing up to the reality of our world that we can grow into our own responsibility.

       Maybe we have to be tolerant toward our own avoidances and denials in the conviction that we cannot force ourselves to face what we are not ready to respond to and in the hope of future days we  have the courage and strength to open our eyes fully and see without being destroyed. All this might be the case as long as we remember that there is no hope in denial or avoidance, neither for ourselves nor for anyone else, and that new life can only be born out of the seed planted in crushed soil.     

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of confessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for his forgiveness.

Related Bible Texts: Proverbs 11:17; John 9:31; Ephesians 6:7,8 James 4:17