I did it my way
+ Dear Lord, I know that I am spiritually stubborn in some way. As I reflect on Your Word today, help me to hear any gentle invitation You have to Your way. May the truth from last week’s, “For my ways are not your ways” carry me into this week’s “Is it my ways that are unfair or rather are not your ways unfair?” Amen.
Ezekiel 25:23-28 Hear how house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather are not your ways unfair?
Where have you shared the cry of Israel that God’s way was unfair? What truth, grace, or greater good have you received from God when you have chosen His Way over your way?
Replace the word unfair with the word “hard.” Where have you resisted the “hard” that God calls you to? Where perhaps are you resisting His Way right now? Tell Him why it’s hard, give Him a chance to respond.
What is one area of grace that God has blessed your life with in the form of perseverance or fortitude? In other words, where has God’s Way been easier for you than others in your life? Where have you and God already forged the path of holiness in your life?
Psalm 25 I am including an extended version of Psalm 25 here and inviting you to reflect slowly on each line. Where is God drawing your heart today?
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
For you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Good and upright is the lord;
Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Turn to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distresses.
Philippians 2:1-11 Humbly regard others as more important than yourself
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
Jesus reminds us of the basic framework of His Way. St. Paul rephrases it here in his letter. Where in your life are you putting you first? Where are you placing your needs or wants as more important than God’s or another persons? This is a hard ask, to reflect on this in our lives.
Fear is often a tool of the enemy that holds us back. Who will take care of me? What about my dreams/hopes/desires? What do you fear you will lose if you “humbly regard others as more important than yourself”? Take this fear to the Lord and ask Him to deal with it. What truth does the Lord want you to replace that fear with? Ask Him.
When you struggle with this truth, and I believe we all do (at least I do regularly) reflect on this: When did Jesus place Himself first?
Matthew 21:28-32 Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your mind
Jesus brings us consolation here in the Gospel with His word, “later”. Jesus does not expect us to be instantaneously Holy, He calls us to a journey of discovering Him and gradually being formed into who God uniquely made you to be.
Where has God already molded your heart to His Way where you were previously resistant? Praise Him for the good work He has done in you and turn that praise to trust that what He has accomplished before, He can do again with our cooperation.
Call to mind again last weeks Gospel of the landowner calling the idle to His vineyard. It is never too late. Our priest, Fr. Adam, often reassures us that where we struggle, where we experience frustration or anxiety, is where Jesus is calling us to a conversation with Him. Whatever Jesus stirred up this week, it is an invitation to bring it to Him. Together the two of you can begin the journey deeper into God’s call of holiness.
