Today, I am going to let the marvelous writer Henri Nowen share some thoughts related to the picture and quote above from the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. But first, please read a little bit about this man who made a tremendous impact in his lifetime and continues to influence religious thought today.
Who was Henri Nouwen?
A Spiritual Master for Our Times
Henri Nouwen was a Dutch-born Catholic priest, professor, psychologist and prolific writer. He taught psychology at the University of Notre Dame and pastoral theology at the Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard before leaving academia to become the pastor at L’Arche Daybreak, a community for people with intellectual disabilities. A master communicator, Nouwen wrote and spoke with great openness and vulnerability about faith, spiritual formation, prayer, social justice, and other themes related to the spiritual life. He wrote thirty-nine books that sold over one million copies in his lifetime and were translated into more than thirty-five languages. Today, book sales have surpassed seven million copies. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1996. He was 64 years old.
Reflect again on the words Sarah Young wrote above as if Jesus is speaking directly to us. Below is the first quote from Nowen that speaks to what an undertaking it truly is to release control. Take time to think about the quote and your own personality and faith life.
‘One of the most arduous tasks is that of giving up control and allowing the spirit of God to lead our lives.’
So, being real, Nowen acknowledges that this is not gonna be an easy thing for most of us. This next quote from him leads us deeper and asks us to learn to sit in the pain and ambiguity that life can bring to us.
‘ It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself. God is a God of the present. God is always in the moment, be that moment hard or easy, joyful and painful. To learn patience is not to rebel against every hardship.’
It is in these difficult and joyful life moments that we can practice being better disciples. The next quote by Nowen shows that he believed God is really actively working in your life but is sure to let us know we have our work to do too. I love it. It’s not going to all be laid out very clearly for us – we have to learn to be observant and grow in our faith our whole lives in order to try to keep up with God. I appreciate immensely the message in the following short little quote.
‘Pay attention to the people God puts in your path, if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.’
Finally, Nowen reveals in the quote below what we need to do to enrich our lives and partner with God under His control and with God’s Beloved everywhere.
‘The more you are called to speak for God’s love, the more you will need to deepen the knowledge of that love in your own heart. The farther the outward journey takes you, the deeper the inward journey must be. Only when your roots are deep can your fruits be abundant.’
To deepening our faith together,
Shauna Weil
A devotion provided by the Devotion Ministry of Goodrich UMC
Henri Nowen has many books on different aspects of faith. His writing is beautiful and clear and is positively inspirational as he writes often from a very personal perspective. Very accessible. Check out your favorite book buying haunts for his titles or your local library.