Good morning…
“Sue,” she emailed me from miles away. “I know that you follow Nouwen and sometimes I think his words are too wordy and more philosophical, but this one is direct and to the point of God’s saving love. It’s one for the come-back-to list. With Nouwen dying in 1996, these words weren’t written last week, obviously, but ‘nuclear holocaust’ is symbolic of so much more in these days of political divisiveness as well as personal tragedies.”
“God be with us,” she encouraged, quietly affirming, “God is with me!”
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DAILY MEDITATION | JULY 23, 2022 – God Stays With Us by Henri Nouwen
I really don’t know if our civilization will survive the century. Considering the growing threat of nuclear holocaust there certainly is a reason to wonder. But important for me is not if our civilization will survive or not but if we can continue to live with hope, and I really think we can because our Lord has given us his promise that he will stay with us at all times. He is the God of the living. He has overcome evil and death and his love is stronger than any form of death and destruction. That is why I feel that we should continually avoid the temptation of despair and deepen our awareness that God is present in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us and that that presence allows us to live joyfully and peacefully in a world so filled with sorrow and conflict.
“The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.” – PSALM 103:6 (NIV)
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When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered, the Eternal is just; He makes the wrongs right. He showed Moses His ways; He allowed His people Israel to see His wonders and acts of power.
The Eternal is compassionate and merciful. When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us. When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding (Psalm 103:6-8, VOICE).
Continuing to avoid the temptation to despair, we deepen our awareness that God is present in the midst of all the chaos surrounding us. We quietly affirm our eternal source of hope: “God is with me!” Focusing our full attention on God’s daily wonders and acts of power, we live joyfully and peacefully in a world so filled with sorrow and conflict.
…Sue…
