October 10
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Everyone I know is searching for inner peace. The tricky thing about inner peace is that you can’t do anything to make it happen. In fact, you have to let go of all your efforts to attain inner peace in order to make yourself vulnerable to receiving the gift of inner peace. Put another way, surrender, full surrender, is the only pathway into sustained peace. Surrender is the heart of the Gospel. Here is a prayer that might help us take a small step toward a surrendered life. Warning: if you pray this prayer your life might change, so do not pray this prayer if you want to stay in control.
Dear God, I want to be finished with control. I know now that the peace and joy I am looking for will never come from me getting my way. Inner peace and abiding joy will only come as a gift from you, God, when I surrender to you fully as a sincere expression of my powerlessness to achieve lasting happiness on my own terms. So, I give up control over my spouse/partner, my children, my parents, my siblings, my friends, my boss and co-workers, my neighbors, my opponents, and all other people, places, and things. I give them all to you. They were never mine to control anyway; they were always yours as am I. Use me, God, as you will by uniting my will to yours. I want to smile for no reason; I want to live happily without a why, for I need no cause to keep me going other than the natural beauty and joy of life itself. Keep me out of the way as you pour your love out upon all creation. May my only wish and desire be that your love flows in a steady, unbroken stream through the lives of all people. I give up control to you and thank you for the infinite gift of your love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are in stewardship season at Good Shepherd right now. The theological foundation of the spirituality of giving is surrender. I give up control of some portion of my resources as an offering to God and my relationship with God mysteriously deepens. Come join us at Good Shepherd as we seek to go deeper in our understanding of the spirituality of giving. All are welcome!
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+