Ordinary Time 
Pause
Waiting can be very hard.
But sometimes as we wait, God does the most important work in us. Keeping focused and watching carefully for God’s good work in our world can renew us each and every day.
Slow down for a moment, think, reflect, and pray for God’s work as you watch and wait.
Listen
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
Think
The old spiritual goes, “Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus.” The thought of stealing away when our thoughts or emotions are burdensome has its appeal. We often need to steal away for forgiveness, solace, comfort, and closeness to Jesus.
Today’s passage is about the sneakiness of a thief, coming when we least expect it. It’s one thing for us to steal away, and another thing altogether when the day of the Lord bursts into our world with silence and without warning. That’s why watching and waiting are such important parts of spiritual practice. The Christian life is not lived intermittently; rather it is lived constantly, with eyes and ears to the ground, anticipating with joy the many ways that God will burst into our lives. Sometimes, God’s bursting in may even look like a tiptoe and a whisper. Watch and wait with joy.
Jeanell Cox
Pray
God of tiptoes and whispers, fill my heart with anticipation today as I watch and wait for the ways that you will make yourself known. Thank you for being ready to receive me when I need to steal away to you. Amen.
Go
Go in the light, living as a person of the day, including all those around you and yourself in the circle of God’s love. Anticipate the joy of God’s good work in you and in the world. Watch and wait with hope. Amen.
