Through the Glass...

We all have important words of wisdom that we turn to in times of need or uncertainty. These words can come from a movie – “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get,” – literature – “Two roads diverged in a wood…” – or often, the Bible. When I worked as a chaplain at the hospital, before surgeries or procedures, it seemed everyone wanted me to read to them Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd…”

A friend of mine recently told me to read Isaiah 55. She said it was a passage that often spoke to her during times of uncertainty. It begins with an invitation to come to God, those of us who are thirsty, hungry, or simply need to seek God. And then God has some very important words for those of us who are seeking, questioning, and searching. “My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways… As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.”

As the title of this blog indicates (a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:12), we always must approach God and life with humbleness and humility. We may not understand everything, we may not understand where God may be leading us, but part of the journey of this Christian life is the searching – coming closer to discovering God’s ways, only to be reminded always that we will never fully comprehend them in this life. In some ways these words only make life and discernment more frustrating, but in some ways they provide comfort, for we know that we are not alone. We all are in the same journey together – seeking, questioning, doubting, and sometimes understanding. And at the times of our greatest frustration, we can always hear God’s invitation –“Come to me, listen, that you may live.” (55:3)