The dilemma doesn't appear until the second half of today's reading when Oswald says that we must choose to obey even if we suspect that our obedience may be hurtful to another, as was the case for Samuel when he had to tell Eli about God's impending punishment. "If you try to prevent the suffering in another life," Oswald writes, "it will prove an obstruction between your soul and God." I haven't even made it to the point of concern that my friend or my child may suffer due to my obedience; I'm still stuck on whether or not he or she is still going to like me. I am willing to risk an obstruction between my soul and God's over the approval of my fellow travelers.
In the first half of the reading, Oswald writes about God's sovereignty and voice: "Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence? Get into the habit of saying, 'Speak, Lord,' and life will become a romance." I want that habit to epitomize my life. I want my life to be a sacred romance.
I couldn't sleep at 4 a.m., so I got up, read today's selection of My Utmost, and prayed. I asked God to speak to me through the current and past circumstances of my life. As this day progresses, I am listening. My ears and heart are awakening to the murmurs of his voice, and as that voice becomes clearer, I will share what I am hearing. For now, I will close with the two verses Oswald mentions:
"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Luke 11:13.
"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it" I Thessalonians 5:23-24.
Barbara
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