" God loves us despite our failings but He is not content to let us coast in our faith. We are continuously being challenged and given opportunities to weed out sin and grow in virtue. He gives us the grace to truly live in the Spirit and follow the Spirit." -Blessed Is She Community
Since beginning college, living out my Christian faith and always attending to my personal relationship with God hasn't been the easiest of things. Being "busy" has shifted away from an excuse of mine, to actually becoming my life. Often times, I do admit, I forget about God. I'm caught up in school, work, and things that are approaching that my mind doesn't come to consider the one that pours himself into me and yearns for me to do the same.
That's the thing, though...my heart desires the Lord greatly.
I have always been my biggest critic so when I began getting "busy", I did think of the many instances that I haven't invited Jesus into any of it. The least I could do is allow the Lord to enter into my every doing. Through not inviting the Lord, it has sometimes pushed me to discouragement and at times I begin to believe I'm not deserving; not of his love, not of asking him for anything, and not even his mercy. It has only led me to, quite a few times, push myself from God, and we do this because of our lack of trust in his goodness and mercy.
Don't run from his mercy!
We aren't to say whether we deserve the Lord's mercy or not, but he showers us in it because he chooses to. We are so incredibly blessed to have a God that gives relentlessly and in such abundance. Believe it or not, we hurt God when we don't accept the mercy or grace he wants to show us. He takes so much delight in showing mercy and being our Saviour, and in accepting it into our lives we are allowing him to take his rightful place.
The Lord doesn't count our merits or judge us based on how many good things we've done. His Mercy simply triumphs over judgment. God makes new His Mercy every morning in which gives us countless opportunities to say "Yes" to him, not just once, but every day. Not only His Mercy is being made new, but so are you. Since we are human we will fall many times but God gives us the chance to get up and start again. His mercy is the promise to us that we are capable of one day becoming saints, for this is what we strive to be.
One of my most favorite, Saint Therese of Lisieux formed a way in which souls can get to heaven. Even being one of the greatest saints of the church, she experienced so much desolation but received much more consolation in the promises of God's mercy. Even in her littleness (brokenness etc.), her efforts in striving for a holy life was fueled by her confidence in the Lord.
God does not call us to be successful, he calls us to be faithful. We are human, which means we won't ever be perfect, but when we make the effort to be the best we can be is when God moves to meet us where we are at and lifts up our lowliness.
The Lord is everything that has been promised to us, so be still in Lord and those promises and he will raise you up.
"Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do." -Saint Pope John XXIII
