When the world becomes too much for us – 23 March 2020
By Hennie Symington
Se(di)ngolwa (t)sa Bibele
Pesalema 116
Teboho ya motho ya pholohileng
I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1-2
Spiritually, we all tend to be more or less on the same track. We attend church services (regularly, or at least some of the time), we read our Bible and sometimes we are inspired by what we read. We plan on living a spiritual life, but soon find ourselves overwhelmed by countless demands that come our way and distract our attention from the spiritual journey.
What does the Holy Spirit demand of us in this imperfect world?
It demands of us something that is totally contrary to the natural world in which we find ourselves. We are taught to assert ourselves in order to make the best of life. We like to be the top dog, and to be seen as somebody in your field of work. It is often a case of dog eat dog, instead of God is God! That is why compassion, care and forgiveness are so important in the kingdom of God. Richard Rohr, the well known Franciscan friar, puts it beautifully when he says “To pray and actually mean the phrase, ‘thy Kingdom come,’ we must also be able to say ‘my kingdom goes.’
Sometimes it feels as if we’ve literally spent only five minutes in the presence of God. Try to spend 10 x 10 minutes a day with God, the next day. Not so easy in the times we live in. Our attention span in the busy lives we lead are short. We are so easily swallowed up by the material world that our spiritual lives suffer.
Prayer: Lord we love you but at times we love the world more, not by choice but as a result of the many demands on our time. Thank you Lord, that you are kind and that your burden is light. Forgive us Lord when we place our faith in the outskirts of our garden.
