Encourage Deeper Understanding of Scripture
The author of The Cloud of Unknowing prays, “That which I am and the way that I am, with all my gifts of nature and grace, you have given to me, O Lord, and you are all this. I offer it all to you, principally to praise you and to help my fellow Christians and myself.” Knowing that God sustains us in being is the key to faith. All that we need to do is to love God as God is and the rest will begin to fall into place. God made us in His image and de-sires that we have life. God also desires that we be healed of all of our wounds, especially those caused by sin, and know his loving touch. Being weighed down by negativity, imperfections, the cares of the world, and weakness is not something that God desires.
Faith can profoundly change how we see God, ourselves, and one another. It gives a clearer lens through which to see life and connects us with the powerful virtues of love and hope. Three friends journeying with us through all that we encounter, faith, hope, and love, help us experience God’s embrace and heal us. All we have to do is let God be who God is and not foolishly try to make Him into what we need or want Him to be. Without God we cease to be. It’s that simple. The very blood that flows through my veins and the life that I have come directly from Divine origins. With this knowledge of who God is and who I am, I can open my ears and hear the powerful words Jesus speaks, “Do not be afraid, just have faith.” Trust begins.
When we are struggling, we naturally reach out for God because we know that a divine remedy is the only remedy. But, in doing so we wrestle with letting God take charge. We want something more miraculous and visible than the obvious and have difficulty in finding consolation simply resting in God’s presence. Our naked being, stripped of any pretense or self-serving agenda, is being called to rest in and love the uncreated Presence of God. Reach out in love to God. Ask God to heal you from all that separates you from Him. Put aside any ideas of God that create barriers between you and God’s tender and endearing presence. The Cloud of Unknowing leaves us with wisdom, “think of your-self and of him in the same way, that is, with the simple aware-ness that he is as he is and that you are as you are.” This is a meeting of two friends who desire nothing more than to share life together.