Luke 17:20-25
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, "The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you."
Then he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.' Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for strength for those going through chemotherapy.
Something I get caught up in is "waiting for a sign." It's a great tactic in Satan's arsenal because it stops us from acting. Take a look at Adam when "the serpent" tempted Eve.
The Pharisees were waiting for their sign, but the thing was that the sign that came to them was nothing like the sign they expected. They expected something much different than The One Who "must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation."
Often times, as I "wait for a sign", I get caught up in the same things the Pharisees do. I expect a sign to look a certain way. I expect God's blessing to be a certain thing. I expect God give me certain things because I'm trusting in Him.
In the end, I find myself humbled. There's a story about St. Padre Pio. Someone asked to be healed of an infirmity and St. Padre Pio responded that he couldn't heal the man of his infirmity because that healing would lead him away from God.
Accept the blessings of each day. Accept each trial and struggle as a means that God uses to keep us faithful. Let us not be like the Pharisees, who rejected God's blessing because He did not come the way they expected. Rather, let us be like Christ, Who in His "Agony in The Garden", prayed, "Not as I will, but as You will, Father." Take care and God Bless.
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