Reminders for Your Spiritual Journey

Some people fear change, it implies that things will be different and that somehow threatens the status quo, the predictable, our ability to be in control of our lives.  Even a sudden, unexpected change in the weather causes us to have to alter our plans.  Deep down the fear seems to stem from a fear of loss of original identity, a substitution of one thing for another.  It causes some people go to great length to resist change, or to even deny that it is happening.  Yet change is inevitable, and the ability to adjust to change is essential to living a fulfilling life.

Travelers who hadn’t checked their email the night before departure, got a rude awakening when boarding the MSG Meraviglia on December 16, 2023.  The cruise ship was scheduled to leave the wintery chill of Brooklyn, New York for warm sunshine in the Bahamas.  Citing “unseasonable and rapidly worsening weather” the itinerary was changed fewer than 24-hours earlier so the ship went north rather than south.  Passengers who had packed for beaches were now confronted with the cold of their new destination in Canada.  While at their port in New Brunswick, temperatures dropped to 15 degrees – 65 degrees cooler than the expected temps of 80 in Grand Cayman. CruiseIndustryNews,com, 12/21/23

Imagine how some of the passengers responded to the big changes.  Some were angry and expressed their displeasure openly, vehemently the whole cruise and tied to enlist others to demand a reverse of fortunes, no matter how impossible.  We humans seem to want to have our way, no matter what.  Some of us need to learn again and again, that it is we who need to adjust, not that the world needs to adjust to us.

Yielding our will to the will of God and learning to make the changes necessary to be in compliance with HIs will is the only way to fulfil God’s plans for us.  He has shown us the way and even when things do not go as we might have expected, He has promised to guide us and bring us into His saving grace.  It is up to us whether we resist and make ourselves and those around us miserable, or accept the changes we are offered and live in peace, content in the knowledge that Jesus died for our salvation and all we have to do is to believe and accept God’s offer to not only change us, but transform us into a new creature, reborn of God.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Proverbs 3: 5

Resilience is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties or the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape.  The literal definition of the word resilient means “to bounce back".  The word is associated with withstanding shock, returning to form, maintaining strength, and not giving up after an accident, disappointment or loss.  It takes resilience to recover from a flood or fire that has damaged or destroyed a home.  How quickly we can recover from a major illness, accident or other difficulty is, a measure of our resilience.  It requires mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

According to writers for Mayo Clinic: “Resilience means being able to cope with tough events. When something bad happens, you still feel anger, grief and pain.  But you're able to keep going, both physically and psychologically.  Resilience isn't about putting up with something tough or coping on our own.  In fact, being able to reach out to others for support is a key part of being resilient.”

It is important to get on with life and to make every day meaningful.  For some people, that might mean finding something important to do like preserving whatever can be salvaged from a wreckage, replacing documents or starting the process to collect insurance or to repair or replace what has been lost.  In the case of a death, it means making the necessary notifications and making the changes required.  Keeping busy, and taking care of whatever has to be done, helps us move forward and gives us a sense of accomplishment.  We need to learn from the past to help us realize that we have recovered from other difficulties and will make it through the present one also.  We need to reach out to others for help and comfort.  We need to take care of ourselves, making sure we get good nutrition, plenty of exercise and adequate sleep.  If professional help is needed, we need to avail ourselves of whatever help is available

Scriptures for strength during difficult times show us that trials come to make us strong.  God gives us challenges to remind us that our strength and willpower are finite.  Bible verses about resilience remind us that we cannot take on these trials alone.  God allows for such trials to teach us to rely on Him for strength, wisdom, direction, comfort and everything else in between.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12. “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4

Prayer can be defined as an act of communication by human beings with the sacred.  It may be with God, “the gods”, the universe, the transcendental realm or any higher power.  Prayer has been practiced in all known religions, in all times, using various forms and techniques.

Some people, who are agnostic, might call it meditation, a time apart to allow one’s own internal reasoning to enlighten them.  However, it is practiced, prayer provides a quiet time for reflection that can have a calming effect.  It allows the person to get outside themselves and their day-to-day activities to gather their thoughts or even to escape them.  Turning one’s problems, or even one’s feelings of gratitude, over to a higher power can provide relief from the burdens of responsibility that we all feel.

Christians are generally taught that God will personally intervene in our lives.  Some people visualize God’s hand literally manipulating events.  Others believe that God enables the person themself, or those around him, to accomplish what the petitioner has requested.  For example, when a loved one goes in for surgery, we might pray that the surgeon’s hands are steady, in order to accomplish the hoped-for outcomes.

In many religions, prayer is supplemented with sacrifice.  The reasons behind that part of the practice most likely originated as a primitive belief that it would please the sacred being if they showed their sincerity by sacrificing something of value.  That has evolved into our present-day practice of offering money at church services because money represents our most valuable assets.  We justify this practice by using the funds to “do God’s work” through the church.

How, and why, we pray, is a personal decision, but it seems to be natural and beneficial for those who do it, especially in times of desperation.  Whether prayers are spontaneous or ritualized, the act itself can engender feelings of relief and satisfaction, or even elation, unlike any other action.

It causes us to humble ourselves and admit that we need something or someone to accept and attend to our needs and feelings.

Jesus said that prayer should be a private time between God and the worshiper.  Jesus did not mean that it is wrong to pray with others, but that prayers should be sincere and for the right motives.  Jesus taught, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men… but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen.” Matthew 6:5-8. "…In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6