Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6 NABRE)
There is an urgency about this verse. Phrased as a command, it implies strongly that there will come a time when the Lord will be too far away to be found.
In context, today's verse is thought to have been written toward the end of the Babylonian exile about 550 years BC.* In it, the Lord calls out to his struggling people to trust him to provide for their worldly needs, to listen to him, and to pay attention to him. To the faithful who would trust and heed his word, the Lord promised to more than meet their physical needs by providing good and delightful food, to give them life, to keep his promises to them as a nation, and to glorify them in the eyes of other nations.
Lord God, thank you for your encouragement. Help me to foster a sense of urgency in my own search for you. I know you are near to me. Continue to light my path by your Spirit so that I might follow it faithfully. Give me the grace to trust you in all circumstances, to center myself in your Word, and to act in a way pleasing to you which is based on your guidance.
Today, I will trust God, listen and pay attention to his guidance, and seek him while I have time.
Saint Francis Xavier, whose life exemplified the understanding that sacrifice is leaving yourself behind at times for a greater good, the good of prayer, the good of helping someone in need, the good of just listening to another, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment