The pain of birth, the joy of an eternal future

Jesus, You taught Your disciples of Your impending crucifixion and they, at first, did not understand. We now stand on the other side of that event. You likened the depth of Your pain to childbirth, in that while it seemed unfathomable, shortly thereafter the joy of birth turned the pain into rejoicing in a new life, a child created in Your image. Jesus, You have gone through pain, disgrace and separation for each one of us and have emerged our risen Savior. Your suffering has led us to the portal of eternal life, to our Spiritual birth. Now we rejoice, not in the suffering, which we too will occasionally experience, but in the resurrection and redemption, first of You, then of us.

My burdens are too much for me…is there any help?

If we could but remember to take Your yoke upon us, for You have no burden, where ours sometimes feels unbearable. We know Father that You see our circumstance and that you have compassion for us. Relieve us we pray, of the tendency to weigh ourselves down when You are willing to lift us up.

Am I Spiritually blind? It is a self-inflicted wound.

Lord and Father, what a wonderful promise. If we seek You we shall find You; but what is it to forsake You? When Jesus, do we abandon You, when do we leave You out of the moments of our life? We admit it is far too often. You tell us that You search our hearts and know the intents of our heart. Lord, we hide nothing because nothing can be hidden from You.

Fidelity…an option?

Jesus, again, Your teachings are not unclear; demanding but not unclear. Why Jesus do You place such emphasis on fidelity? Is it because marriage between a man and woman, where two become as one, is a parallel of our fidelity to You, where Your Spirit lives in us and if we were to show infidelity towards You, it would be a great offense? We know that infidelity towards You, after Your Spirit has been united with our spirit, is the only unforgivable sin.

Is pride the most subtle of all sins?

Father, You require that we come to you in humility, not proud of ourselves. Help us Father to be joyful as we seek to serve without having our joy turn to self-serving pride.

How much of God’s word is hidden in your heart (and does it matter)?

Father, Our hearts rejoice when we know we are doing Your will and being perfectly obedient. On the other hand, when we disobey and turn from Your word and counsel we feel a burden that can only be relieved by confession and repentance. There is no teaching as rich and fruitful as Your word.