Blessed Be Our Troubles And Worries
Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
My dear encountered couples:
Do you hate getting up some mornings? Are you tired of the same problems, worries, and struggles every day? Would you like to chuck it all and take one long rest away from all those things?
Who doesn’t feel that way at times, but let’s face it: It is not in the cards for most of us. Our situations in life demand that we keep going on and keep dealing with the same things every day that we have been working at for years. We can dream, sometimes we might get a break, but for most of us, life goes on pretty much as usual for years and years.
God, through Isaiah, offers us his hand. “I am the Lord, your God, who grasps your right hand,” he says. “It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you. Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”
I don’t know what people do who don’t believe in God and with a very strong, deep faith. What would you and I do without our faith in Jesus Christ? But do you know what? If our lives were just as we would like them, if the problems and frustrations that wear us down would all of a sudden vanish, is it possible we would have no more need for our faith? If our dreams of peace and quiet and perpetual rest in this life were to really happen, if there would no longer be anything bothersome to get rid of in our lives, we just might forget about Christ. And that would be the greatest mistake we could make, an eternal mistake.
Salvation from hell is only through Jesus Christ. Let us be grateful for all that makes us go to him. Blessed be our troubles and worries and our seemingly never getting anywhere different in our lives. They all help glue us to Jesus Christ.
