Good morning…
“Dear Sue,” she emailed me yesterday. “I think today was a God moment as I read Henri Nouwen’s post Know that You Are Welcome and then moved on to your message, You Are Welcome Here.
As we emailed back and forth, I shared that I was also so surprised by the synchronicity of the Spirit. After discerning with God yesterday’s post, the Spirit spurred me to push “send” on our message at 2:15 am. Then at 5:01 am, Henri Nouwen Society sent out the following words, as if the Spirit was finishing the very same sentence.
How does God do this?
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Henri Nouwen DAILY MEDITATION | JANUARY 5, 2022 – Know that You are Welcome
Not being welcome is your greatest fear. It connects with your birth fear, your fear of not being welcome in this life, and your death fear, your fear of not being welcome in the life after this. It is the deep-seated fear that it would have been better if you had not lived.
Here you are facing the core of the spiritual battle. Are you going to give in to the forces of darkness that say you are not welcome in this life, or can you trust the voice of the One who came not to condemn you but to set you free from fear? You have to choose life. At every moment you have to decide to trust the voice that says, “I love you. I knit you together in your mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13).
Everything Jesus is saying to you can be summarized in the words “Know that you are welcome.” Jesus offers you his own most intimate life with the Father. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
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“In these anxious and fearful times, we all seek comfort and the assurance that we are loved and that all will be well,” she continued her email. “These past few weeks have been filled with many ‘firsts’ since the death of my husband. I have felt adrift and without an anchor. It is reassuring to know that God is with us, even when we don’t feel His Presence. Thank you for your messages. They help me through the day.”
Before we even take our first breath, we are seen, we are known, we are limitlessly loved. God moments happen to comfort and assure. Through the synchronicity of the Spirit, the God of our universe whispers, “Yes, I am with you.” Gradually we begin to truly trust. You are all around me—in front of me and behind me. I feel your hand on my shoulder (Psalm 139:5, ERV).
Are we willing to lean into the Giver of life when we feel anxious and fearful, weary and burdened? At every moment we must decide to trust the voice that says, “I love you. I knit you together in your mother’s womb. Come to me. I will give you rest. Please know that you are welcome.”
God moments happen to teach us deep truth: “Yes, you are loved and all will be well.”
…Sue…
