Challenges to Trust

12/13/2018

Step #1: Lectio / Read

Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text.

Isaiah 41:13-20

Step #2: Meditatio / Meditate

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

“The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them”

It’s so ridiculously simple. It really is. Place your trust and your hope in the Lord because he will provide. I can’t think of anything more simple than this— so why is it so difficult to do?

I don’t know if it’s just part of the human condition to want to be self-sufficient or not. I’m sure there is a dimension of our nature, wounded by the effects of original sin, that desires to accomplish things individually. We aren’t as keen on bringing community into our lives and seeking to grow with accountability and responsibility because it means we can’t actually slack off and do nothing. We aren’t naturally disposed to seeking help or to invite others into our lives— joys and struggles alike— because we don’t feel confident enough in who we are to ask.

This is why it is so hard to do the ridiculously simple task of trusting in the Lord. Each of us has a particular relationship with the Lord, but so many of us fall into the same traps. For as unique as we are in how we love and serve the Lord, we aren’t all that unique in how we struggle in those relationships. So often we look at our lives and see something lacking, and so we decide to fill that on our own. We recognize that a part of our spirit is parched and in need of water. But the more we seek water in vain, the thirstier we become, and the more we seek in vain. Because we are so used to turning inward and bearing burdens and struggles alone and in isolation, we fail to realize that the answer to our thirst is quite simply to reach out and ask the Lord to satisfy that thirst. How much different would life be if we stopped searching in vain for something that we know we can only find in the Lord? What would it be like to trust in God and not in ourselves to provide what we truly need and what is best for us?

Though the answer to our thirst is so simple, coming to a place where we can trust so well is far from easy. It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of trying again and again to become more comfortable placing our hope and trust in the Lord to provide for us instead of seeking water in vain. We aren’t comfortable inviting others in— and that includes the Lord. We think that we aren’t worthy of his help or that he could never possibly understand how dire our thirst is. But the process begins one small step at a time. When we trust in the Lord with something small, it’s like a small sip to quench our thirst. The more we trust, the more we receive, and when we finally trust him with everything, the rivers of living water that he promises are opened for us and we never thirst again.

Step #3: Oratio / Pray

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

Where do I struggle to trust the Lord? Where in my life am I trying to be self-sufficient?

What do I try to fill my life with in place of God, who alone can satisfy?

Who helps hold me accountable spiritually?

Step #4: Contemplatio / Contemplate

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

"The Lord will provide."

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"You satisfy my soul."

Step #5: Actio / Act

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

Take a step in trust with the Lord, a friend, or a family member, and share with them some of the struggles you have in your faith or in trusting the Lord. Ask them to help hold you accountable in your prayer life.

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Today's prayer was prepared by Adam Smyth, the Life Teen Coordinator at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in the Woodlands, TX.

If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today.

CARPE VERBUM