Daily Reading
Practice All You Have Learned
May 26, 2023
Dear friends, I hope you see clearly that more of God is our greatest need, our greatest joy, our only rescue. This isn’t optional. He’s the source of the strength and resiliency we need for this hour, the Life that allows us to enjoy everything else in life.
So the very simple question is this: What will you do, on a daily and weekly basis, to find God and receive more of him?
There are many traditional practices: prayer, fasting, the sacraments. But there are good books on those things. There are also monastic practices like simple work. The summer I lost my dear friend, I built a log rail fence. Long hours of simple, manual labor was exactly what my soul needed. God knew that, brought it to me just in time. He will bring the things you need across your path in the time you need them too. Your soul will let you know when it’s not doing well, when it needs attention, and often what it needs.
So let me leave you for now with a piece of advice and a blessing. The advice comes from St. Paul, who lovingly and tenderly offered this to his dear sons and daughters in the faith:
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9 NLT)
I love the kindness of this encouragement. Keep putting into practice. It’s not about perfection; it’s not about being amazing. God is nowhere in the pressure to be amazing. He’s waiting in the simple dailies. Just keep putting into practice the things that heal your soul and bring you more of Jesus. Then the God of peace will be with you. You’ll no longer be sipping God from teaspoons; you’ll learn to drink deeply from the tangible, nourishing, life-giving presence of the eternal God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the fountain of living waters. Which is my blessing:
May the Son of God, who is already formed in you, grow in you, so that for you he will become immeasurable, and that in you he will become laughter, exultation, the fullness of joy which no one can take from you. —Isaac of Stella
Want more? Order your copy of Get Your Life Back today.
So the very simple question is this: What will you do, on a daily and weekly basis, to find God and receive more of him?
There are many traditional practices: prayer, fasting, the sacraments. But there are good books on those things. There are also monastic practices like simple work. The summer I lost my dear friend, I built a log rail fence. Long hours of simple, manual labor was exactly what my soul needed. God knew that, brought it to me just in time. He will bring the things you need across your path in the time you need them too. Your soul will let you know when it’s not doing well, when it needs attention, and often what it needs.
So let me leave you for now with a piece of advice and a blessing. The advice comes from St. Paul, who lovingly and tenderly offered this to his dear sons and daughters in the faith:
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9 NLT)
I love the kindness of this encouragement. Keep putting into practice. It’s not about perfection; it’s not about being amazing. God is nowhere in the pressure to be amazing. He’s waiting in the simple dailies. Just keep putting into practice the things that heal your soul and bring you more of Jesus. Then the God of peace will be with you. You’ll no longer be sipping God from teaspoons; you’ll learn to drink deeply from the tangible, nourishing, life-giving presence of the eternal God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the fountain of living waters. Which is my blessing:
May the Son of God, who is already formed in you, grow in you, so that for you he will become immeasurable, and that in you he will become laughter, exultation, the fullness of joy which no one can take from you. —Isaac of Stella
Want more? Order your copy of Get Your Life Back today.