I attended a one day silent retreat at the Diocese of Austin Cedarbrake Retreat Center in Belton, Texas about two hours away. The retreat center is situated on 67 acres of wooded land with walking trails, a canyon, a small creek, a lodge, a chapel, a hall and many cabins. Apparently, it is one of the largest catholic retreat centers in Texas.
The theme of the retreat revolved around Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
The day began inside the main Lodge by pondering on the following three passages from Matthew. A common denominator in the word “come” in all three passages brought me joy knowing that God wanted me to come and spend time with Him today.
Matthew 14:28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’
Matthew 11:28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 28:6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
I left the Lodge and decided to follow one of the many hiking trails while pondering on why did I come today and did I truly believe I could trust God with all my heart, mind and soul?
Trust is a choice we must all make even though we may not understand or know the way.
As I walked and prayed, I came across a limestone ledge overlooking a small canyon. I was mesmerized by all the beauty of mother nature around me and I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to shut up and just pray with Him. After a few minutes, I started hearing the faint sound of water gurgling from the bottom of the canyon which by the way I was able to videotape on my I-Phone which unfortunately, I was unable to attach to the blog.
As I questioned the Holy Spirit for the significance of the water gurgling out from the ground, He told me that God was the living water and to trust Him.
After lunch, I attended mass inside the small Chapel where I questioned myself, what fear do I have that I will offer to him today? After all, one cannot have trust while harboring fear.
I realized right there that I had to make a choice to trust Him. I had to risk loving Him with all my heart without falling victim to any internal fears I could be harboring.
After mass, I decided to do some more reflection and meditation. I sat down next to a stone water fountain similar to the one I had heard earlier in the Canyon.
How I wish I had childlike faith. I figure it is better to be hot or cold than it is to be luke warm in God’s eyes!
I finished my first book, Waiting on God: Strength for Today an Hope for Tomorrow by Dr. Charles Stanley. God has an awesome plan mapped out for each of us, but He only reveals it one step at a time. God uses delays to prepare us for His plans. God uses our hurts, losses and disappointments to produce character qualities we will need to accomplish His plan for our lives. According to Dr. Stanley, why does God require that we wait?
- To receive His clear direction
- To keep us in step with His timing
- To test our faith
- To strengthen our faith
- To sift the motives for our desires
By heeding His instruction, we are conformed to the image of Christ and empowered to walk obediently in His will and according to His schedule. Sometimes He restrains our blessings until we trust him because by waiting it teaches us to walk by faith, trusting God’s timing instead of giving in to immediate self-gratification. Sometimes we pray selfishly so God delays in answering our prayers in order to give us time to see situations from His viewpoint not ours!
Isaiah 64:4 No matter what we are facing, we can know that God always acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. Since He’s the omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign God of the universe, He can do what no one else can, and He always works for our good.