Thursday in the Third Week of Lent

Psalm 42  •  Jeremiah 10:11-24 • Romans 5:12-21 • John 8:21-32

Jeremiah 10:23

I know, O Lord that the way of man is not in himself,

 That it is not in the man who walks to direct his steps

John 8:31-32

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

I have been living with the above readings for a few weeks. Today on my walk I looked up and saw a hawk circling way above the trees.  At times he would flap his wings and fly higher and then would just float in the air, sometimes slowly descending and sometimes being lifted without any effort on his part . . . a beautiful sight. The word “trust” came to mind as I watched the hawk being lifted up and guided by the drafts of air, sometimes just hanging there.

So too are we to trust that we are supported and guided;  “. . . it is not in the man who walks to direct his steps.” If we stay open, believing this truth, that Spirit is guiding and strengthening us, a burden is lifted. We are not all on our own as we move through life. We are in and of the spirit which unifies all things. I believe that intuition is one way we recognize the spirit within and that it can help us become aware of divine direction. The writer Shakti Gawain says, “We need to let our intuition guide us and then be willing to follow that guidance directly and fearlessly. Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance you feel a lack of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.”

Jesus lived his life from within, regularly going to a place apart to listen to the spirit. If we are to continue in his word, we must do the same, trusting in the truth of this way of life. As we listen to the spirit within we sometimes have to wait and trust. Then the times will come when we, like the hawk, are lifted up and guided; a word is given, a chance encounter, a book lands in our hands. “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

— Brenda Peterson