Open my eyes that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Open my ears that I may hear
Voices of truth thou sendest clear,
And while the wave notes fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee,
Ready by God, thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine.
-Clara H. Scott
Throughout my busy life I have been trying to take time where I can just sit and be quiet with God. Sometimes that’s before the sun rises with my morning coffee, or when I’m sitting in the library between classes, or like now, when I’m home alone in my freshly cleaned apartment. I don’t play any music or do any fancy breathing techniques to calm or relax myself. I just sit… in the silence… and be. I do this because I long to be what God wants me to be; I desire direction and guidance in this crazy journey called life. I aspire to be like King Solomon when God told him to ask for whatever he needed (1 Kings 3) and “Solomon could have asked for anything – wealth, long life, or anything else – but he asked for only one thing: a ‘hearing heart’ […].”[1] To the ancient Hebrews, the heart was the core of the whole human being, living out in every aspect of their lives. “Most important, it was within the heart that people truly met God’s word – where real knowledge and conversion took place.”[2] And if it is only for a few moments that we can get to be in this meeting place with God, it makes all the more difference in our lives. God’s compassion moves through us and over flows into our daily workings. I am definitely not perfect at discerning and being Jesus with skin on (as Gordon always called it), but I find encouragement and hope in knowing that I am continually trying. God works in everyone’s life in unique and personal ways and that’s what makes life so beautiful. The thing is we often do not take the time to step back and reflect on how the Lord worked in our lives each day. My hope is that through this blog, whether it be a reflection like this one, or a theological inquisition (which I will do!), that I can take you that step back and give you the chance to be with God, whether it be in praise, adoration, pain, confusion, contemplation, or whatever your heart is needing at that moment. May this be a gentle reminder to hear with your heart and bring God into your day. Peace.
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
- Psalm 143:8
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