Daily reflection _ Take courage, for I will be with you

"TAKE COURAGE,
FOR I WILL BE WITH YOU"
If we the children of God are to do what He wants, we need inner courage, and that will usually require a measure of conversion.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Take courage, the Prophet Haggai tells the people. Take courage. He says this three times because the people are giving up on the hard work of rebuilding the temple after they return home from exile. All their enthusiasm for something of great value is running out of gas.
Through the Prophet the Lord exhorts them several times: "Take courage, for I will be with you." Haggai knew, just as our bishops at the Second Vatican Council knew, just as any spiritual leader knows, that the external action is not enough. If we the children of God are to do what He wants, we need inner courage, and that will usually require a measure of conversion. The essence of Haggai's message to his contemporaries is as relevant today as it was then, not just for erecting buildings but for forming a faithful, worshipping people of God.
Today we have many questions, don't we? These questions pertain to our faith, our lives, work, managing the home, and so on. Good answers depend on being courageous about our daily commitment of life and to accept and obey our heavenly Father's loving voice.
In the Responsorial Psalm it brings the Scriptures message all together for us: Hope in God; I will praise Him, my Savior and my God (Ps 43.) In our prayer we find peace and contentment accepting the deep, social, and religious need to communicate with others. We need God's presence through the sacrament of His joy. In the midst of the trials and sufferings that form the part of the human condition, may we ask for the serenity to face these trials and the steadfastness to go through them with confidence, so that even in our dark hours we may be a living witness to the loving power of the Lord's hand. In peace and in joy let us always be a serene witness to the glory to come, as citizens of heaven, on our way through this world, to our final destination with You our God.
Are you thinking God's way or your own way?