This is What You Really Need
We all desire clarity.
For example, it is deeply human to want clarity before making an important decision that might change the trajectory of our lives:
Should I attend this college or that college?
Should I accept the new job offer or stay with my current employer?
Should I marry this person or not?
We also want clarity to help us understand why bad things happen, and why some of our prayers seem to go unanswered:
Why are we unable to conceive a child?
Why was I let go from my job?
Why does my child continue to suffer from addiction?
Unfortunately, we rarely receive the clarity we desire, which raises the question: Is clarity really what we need?
Mother Theresa was well-known throughout the world for dedicating her life to the unwanted, unloved and uncared for people in Calcutta, India, and thus attracted many religious pilgrims who came to India to live with and learn from her. One of these people was John Kavanaugh, an American Jesuit professor of philosophy. At the end of his time there, Kavanaugh was faced with a decision: Should he return to America and teach in comfort, or should he stay in Calcutta and care for these people? When he asked Mother Theresa to pray for clarity for him as he contemplated his decision, she said she wouldn’t! Instead, she said she would only pray for trust. Mother Theresa claimed she herself never had such clarity; all she ever had was trust.
How do you develop trust in God? Think about how you develop trust in another human being. You get to know them -- really know them. That is also how we develop trust in God. We get to know him: Through prayer. Through his Word. By continually recalling his past presence in our lives and opening ourselves to his presence now.
That is likely why Paul, in the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, says he keeps praying that the people in Ephesus may know God better (Ephesians 1:17). Paul could pray for prosperity, safety, healing, etc.; instead, he prays that they may know God better.
Knowing God -- his goodness, his power, his love -- allows us to trust God. Trusting God allows us to release our grip on the need for clarity, providing lightness and joy that is otherwise not possible.
Trust in God is the essence of faith. It is the most fundamental choice we have.
Adapted from The Reverend Andrew Forrest’s sermon: The One with the 75 LB Medicine Ball