March 15, 2024 – Draw Near
Friday, March 15, 2024:
Pause. Pray. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
Read: Psalm 119:37-41, 49 Longing to Draw Nearer
Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
(Psalm 119:37, Message)
What do you long for? As we end the week drawing nearer, try this exercise to uncover what you truly long for while you journey to Easter morning:
Using 1 sticky note per thought, and in 5 minutes identify as many of your current pain points as possible – those places where you feel frustration, disappointment, fear, or dissonance. Examples: I’m frustrated with my limited mobility; I don’t feel competent to do what I’m asked to do; I don’t know my purpose; I can’t seem to accomplish all I set my mind to.
Now organize your sticky notes in clusters or groups that are similar or relate to each other. Label each grouping on a new sticky with a word or phrase that summarizes that cluster of pain points.
Often, our pain points reveal what we truly long for. For each summarized pain point, ask this question: what might this pain point reveal about what I am longing for? Go as deep as possible. Write that longing on a new sticky.1
Our longings, the desires of our heart, are God wooing us to Himself and His purpose for us. In the words of Henri Nouwen, “By listening to our longings we hear God as their Creator.” (Henri Nouwen, Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings.)
Be Still and Reflect: What do you long for? Draw near and listen to God as its Creator.
Pray: Lord God, it is You that I long for. Teach me the lessons of the cross for living, so I can stay the course. Give me insight; guide me with your commandments; give me an appetite for Your words of wisdom; invigorate me on my pilgrim way as I draw nearer to You. Let your love shape my life. Let your truth be the tune I dance to. In the name of Your Son who shows me the way to the abundant life You want for me, Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria
1The complete exercise appears in Make Work Matter: Your Guide to Meaningful Work in a Changing World by Michaela O’Donnell and is used in the De Pree Center’s Road Ahead cohorts.