Ordinary Time 
Pause
Is God enough for you to be enough?
Too often, we focus so much on our own accomplishments and failures that we forget that God is behind the scenes, beneath our feet, beyond our imaginations doing unexpected things and offering undeserved grace. And maybe that’s enough . . .
“God has the power to provide you with more than enough of every kind of grace. That way, you will have everything you need always and in everything to provide more than enough for every kind of good work.”
2 Corinthians 9:8
Listen
Then all the trees in the countryside will know that I, the Lord, bring down the tall tree and raise up the lowly tree, and make the green tree wither and the dry tree bloom. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.
Ezekiel 17:24
Think
They say that there are only three things that matter in real estate: “Location, location, location.” I’m guessing the fourth rule is “Don’t mention the lowly, dry trees.”
The vision that Ezekiel shares brings to mind an abandoned yard with dying trees that’s not about to win a neighborhood beautification award. The kind of yard that the neighbors complain about and the kids are warned to stay away from. The kind of yard that feels like a graveyard.
The kind of place where God says: “This is where I do my best work.”
Sometimes, our faith can feel like these trees – all dried up, no life, no fruit, no hope. Prayers seem to bounce straight back down off the ceiling. God seems distant, while everyone around you seems so happy and on fire for God.
Believe the Good News: God’s best work is done in the dry and dusty places where life is most ominously disguised. In the very places where life seems most barren, God’s love is more than enough to bring back life.
Dave McNeely
Pray
God, it’s not always easy to believe that you’re at work when my faith feels so dry, even dead. But I know that your specialty is bringing dead things back to life. Give me the strength to survive this dry spell and trust that, even as I pray, you are watering my life with goodness and mercy. Amen.
Go
“Our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”
Augustine
Beneath our concerns that we may never be or have enough, may we seek and find rest in God’s abundant enough.
