“Be my rock of refuge, a strength to give me safety”- Psalm 71: 3-4
Many years ago I first heard the expression, “Let go and let God”, and wrestled with its implications. It asks me to trust in God more than myself, to be strong, and to have the courage and faith to know I am loved by God, a power stronger than any meager efforts I may assert to try and gain control of chaos and uncertainty.
Today’s readings epitomize trust. Manoah’s wife, hearing the angel’s announcement that, although barren, she was now with child, trusted the message, shared it with her husband, cared for her health and the unborn infant. Zechariah was fearful when an angel appeared to him, understandably so. He and his wife were old, and he questioned the announcement that his wife would conceive. Her response was to trust the truth of God’s love, “the Lord has done for me at a time when He sees fit.”
Most of us learn to trust by truly knowing someone, listening to their values, ideas, and sharing our own. Through the bond of trust, our minds and hearts come together. Through prayer, in all its forms, we share our hearts and hopes, our fears and our truths. In those conversations, we listen and feel God’s presence and love. Just as the women in today’s readings, we carry His light inside us, tending it with faith and trust, to share with world.
Advent is a perfect time to trust more profoundly; to let go and let God enter deeper into our lives.
Lord, nurture my soul with Your love, that I may more completely live in faith, and spread Your light. Amen.
Gail Dennig