蜜芽传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Julia Loveless

Good morning.

At one point, in the Desiderata by Max Erhman, he commends his reader to 鈥渘urture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.鈥� In the Christian faith, right at the start of the Bible, God recognises in His creation that it is 鈥渘ot good for humans to be alone.鈥� As a triune God - Father, Son & Spirit, God Himself knows the beauty of community and perfect communion with others. He sees his creation of humanity and immediately knows that we will need community, communion and connection to thrive. Loneliness and isolation beget all manner of despair and darkness.

The Bible also addresses the power of anxiety, that Ehrman points out in this extract. As beautifully translated by Eugene Peterson; Philippians 4 says 鈥渄o not fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God鈥檚 wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It鈥檚 wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.鈥�

God; I pray for the courage and boldness to pray to you today - to offer my pain, my worries, my fears. I pray for community - people around me who I can connect with and trust. And I pray for those who are more lonely than I; provide for them the same.

Amen.