May all of your expectations be frustrated.
May all of your plans be thwarted.
May all of your desires be withered into nothingness
that you may experience the poverty and helplessness of a child
and can sing and dance in the joy of God
who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
May all of your plans be thwarted.
May all of your desires be withered into nothingness
that you may experience the poverty and helplessness of a child
and can sing and dance in the joy of God
who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I have no idea where this quote (or benediction as I've heard it called) came from. If any of you know, please let me know, so that I can credit it appropriately. I do love it. I found it first not long after the discovery that I had been somewhat "duped" in my marriage to Tdub. Thwarted plans, frustrated expectations, and the poverty and helplessness of a child resonated so clearly and painfully to me then. And I learned that all my desires indeed had to wither into nothingness so that the ONE who I was created to desire could reveal Himself to me.
And the paradox of the situation is this; by giving up what I desired and desiring only Him, He in turn has given back to me the very things I placed above Him at the start. There was nothing wrong in my original desires, in and of themselves, it was the place I'd given them over Him that was harmful to me.
I enjoy the way everything is turned upside-down and backwards, mysterious and incomprehensible in God's Kingdom. The first shall be last. Foolish thoughts to confound the wise. Becoming as little children. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. None of it makes any sense and it makes perfect sense at the same time.
I'm thankful it doesn't take a doctorate in theology, or even an 8th grade education to comprehend the deep matters of God, even though I'll never really comprehend even one tiny thing about Him.
grace
And the paradox of the situation is this; by giving up what I desired and desiring only Him, He in turn has given back to me the very things I placed above Him at the start. There was nothing wrong in my original desires, in and of themselves, it was the place I'd given them over Him that was harmful to me.
I enjoy the way everything is turned upside-down and backwards, mysterious and incomprehensible in God's Kingdom. The first shall be last. Foolish thoughts to confound the wise. Becoming as little children. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. None of it makes any sense and it makes perfect sense at the same time.
I'm thankful it doesn't take a doctorate in theology, or even an 8th grade education to comprehend the deep matters of God, even though I'll never really comprehend even one tiny thing about Him.
grace
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1 comment:
Thanks for sharing this. It is so true! I don't think I've ever heard that benediction before, but it reminds me of a Christian song "Diamonds to Coal" by the Lost Dogs that makes a similar point in lines like "If I desire the sky, Lord, give me the ground."
I also have enjoyed the paradoxical way in which He gives us what we desired, after first frustrating and withering the desire away and claiming His place of pre-eminence in our hearts. Anyway, thanks again for this beautiful reminder of His love and faithfulness and the mysteries of His Kingdom.
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