Ordinary Time

Pause

Take a deep breath, and let it out with a sigh.

Do it once more.

Close your eyes and slowly count to five.

Take another deep breath and be reminded of God’s presence in your life.

Listen

We don’t need to write to you about the timing and dates, brothers and sisters.You know very well that the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2

Think

Is there anything uncertain in your life right now? Do you ever struggle to keep your faith? Paul wrote a letter to his friends in Thessalonica to encourage them a bit. The Thessalonians had been suffering, and they had also continued to be faithful to God.

Uncertainty can be unnerving. We like to know things for certain. This expectation of certainty is probably stronger in us than it would have been for the Thessalonians, simply because of advances in scientific knowledge. But Paul encourages us and the Thessalonians to focus on the knowledge that we belong to God… and to stop trying to figure out things that only God can know.

There will be hard days. Days when we wonder why we are following Jesus. Days when we feel alone. But don’t be tempted to despair! God has been with you from the beginning, is with you now, and will be with you always. You belong to God!

Becky Ullom Naugle

Pray

God, help me find my identity in you. Grant me the strength to see beyond my immediate questions and concentrate on improving my relationship with you and with those around me. Amen.

Go

Go into your day with confidence, knowing that God has promised to be with you always, even if God’s sense of timing is different from yours.

Remember God’s love for you; remember your love of God.

You cannot go where God is not!