18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Written by Tanner Kalina
Sometimes God calls us to do crazy things, yes. But sometimes God calls us to shower us with blessing and love. I find the latter harder to receive.
When He speaks to me in such a lovingly, generous, Fatherly way, I admittedly find my heart go up in defense mode. “There’s no way you’re this good, God.” “Shouldn’t I have to suffer more?” “I don’t deserve that.” “Why would you give me something so good?” I feel these thoughts rise to the surface and I can be quick to dismiss that I even heard God in the first place. “Meh. That’s just wishful thinking.” “I did that. Not God.”
The Lord is good. The Lord is only goodness. Only the purest, biggest, best goodness. We can so easily forget this. It was the original sin of Adam and Eve. They forgot that God was good and that He had their best interests at heart. They let their trust in His goodness die. A hard heart can’t receive the blessings God wants to give us. It takes true humility to receive His affection. But how do we do that?
Gratitude and growth. As long as we remain grateful and strive to grow, we remain humble. As long as we remain humble, we remain available to hear His voice and receive His love. The second we take His blessings for granted is the second we close ourselves off to Him. The second we become complacent in our walks with Him is the second we clog our ears to His calls. Let us continue to be grateful. Let us continue to chase holiness. Let us continue to hear His voice and trust in His goodness.
Do you thank God everyday? Are you striving for holiness?
Tanner is a Catholic artist and missionary currently living in Denver, Colorado. He chases holiness in his day to day, failing frequently but continuing constantly. Along with working as a writer and actor for the last decade, he has had the great pleasure of spreading the Gospel with awesome ministries such as FOCUS, Ascension Presents, YDisciple, Saints Alive, and others. Check out Tanner’s website for more information.
Pray with today’s psalm.