07/18/2014

SPIRIT Blog

A  Good Word from the Ancients
“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” - 
Isaiah 30:15


Sometimes the very idea of “God” can seem far away.  We seem to be imbued with a soul that is more like an ocean than a solid rock.  Closeness with God comes and goes like tides reacting to the pull of the moon.  And like the moon, life itself seems to pull us closer and further from God as we move through times of feeling full and luminous to times we feel hidden and overshadowed.  

The ancients offer us wise advice for living a life of spiritual ebb and flow.  In all seasons, it is enough to invite our souls to remain vigilant and trustful until God’s presence is felt again in time.  This is one of the reasons that our personal spiritual practices are important.  Through the discipline of time spent in meditation, prayer or any other way of intentionally opening to the possibility of God’s presence, we build strength, patience and a less anxious faith as we learn daily to wait on the Holy One whether feeling full of hope or desolate and disconnected.

Listen to these beautiful ancient words from the prophet Isaiah: “Returning – Rest – Quietness – Trust.”  In these words, we are given precious spiritual keys for opening our lives to greater depth and joy in this ongoing journey of human being.  I invite each of us to contemplate these key words in the coming days and consider ways to enrich our spiritual practices by incorporating them.

Glad you’re there,
Rev. Pressley