4th Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday of Advent are:

1. 2 Samuel 7: 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
   
2. Psalm 89: 2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
   
3. Romans 16: 25-27
   
4. Luke 1: 26-39
   

• Wrong place at the wrong time
  
• Sometimes, the hardest part about finding God's will in your life is deciding not to do a good thing.
• If some action is good, such as building a hospital, providing relief funds to refugees, working a local soup kitchen, can such an action be bad for you?
• When trying to decide between investing yourself in one good thing or some other good thing, how do you choose?
• Do you think that God cares?
  

• Finding the faithfulness of God
  
• To one extent or another, we all believe that God will never leave us nor forsake us.  Sometimes though, that belief can be hard to hang onto.
• Have you ever felt forsaken, as though there was no one who really knew what it was like to be you, no one who cared enough to make a difference in your life?
• Where was God at that moment?
• If you ever get into a situation like that again, what will be different about your attitude the next time around?
• What might help you to have a really deep down trust in God to be faithful?
  

• Finding strength to do the right thing
  
• One definition of integrity is "what you do when you know no one else is looking".  There you are, just you, all of your experiences up until that moment, a decision before you, and God.
• When you found yourself in those pivotal moments, did God seem right there with you, supporting you, or distant, obscure, maybe even absent?
• What do you pray in such situations?
• How do you know when it's time to move forward, to commit yourself, even though you still don't feel strong enough?
• How has that turned out for you?
  

• Boot camp
  
• Often God calls us in unexpected ways into unexpected ministries, and we wonder why He didn't do a more thorough job preparing us.  After all, He knew this calling was going to come our way, you would think that He could be more organized about the preparation.
• Think of a calling from God in your life that caught you by surprise, and gave you little time to prepare yourself.
• Did you find that you were better prepared than you thought that you were?
• How did you find the trust necessary to step into that new chapter in your life?
• Do you trust God any more deeply now than you did then?
• If you were able to go back in time to your younger self when you were contemplating that next step, what would you say to yourself?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might I be trying to pack too much into my life?
   
2. Do I trust God as deeply as I might?
   
3. Where is God inviting me to deeper humility, deeper integrity in His service?
   
4. Where is God teaching me more trust today?

Letting Go

I don't think that plans are bad.

God is not some anarchist set on disrupting our carefully built expectations.

In fact, I think God teaches us how to rely on Him

Each time that we make a decision with the intent to draw closer to His side.

The danger comes when we become attached to those plans,

Let them define us, provide our identity.

Soon, nothing makes sense anymore without those plans coming to fruition.

And we lose sight of why we made them in the first place.

Planning is all about the journey.

It's part of the journey.

And just as any journey can lead to unseen places along unfamiliar pathways,

A plan that was precious and holy may have to be given up for even more trust, more holiness.

The grace and mercy of God is not -

Not in letting us walk in the way that we have charted.

No matter how much prayer went into that course of action.

Rather God's mercy lies in His intimate presence and guidance.

We are only as alone as we make ourselves.

God is only as far away as we move ourselves.

No matter how dark the passage ahead might be.

The Light of Life is there before us.

Sometimes we just have to close our eyes to see it.

Shalom!