http://www.academyofthecross.org Spiritual reflections that can be helpful for places along the way in your journey of Christian discipleship. Wed, 16 May 2012 23:05:01 GMT en-us Manual RSS Feed Generator (c) Academy of the Cross, St Charles, IL Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. What happens when we do that? Perhaps in our minds we remain anxious even after we pray because we have a predetermined answer we expect from God. We present Him with a list of solutions we expect as an outcome that will remove our anxieties and have the script turn out precisely as we prescribe. That isn't God's way of looking at our needs and fears. He knows we worry...He knows the challenges we face...He knows the pain we experience...and He knows the complexities and limitations of our being and our doing. That is precisely why He has told us not to be anxious. In every situation He tells us to come to Him, the One who knows all and can handle everything. He invites us to abide in Him, to depend on Him. We can be confident He hears us and sees the whole bigger picture of our lives. He wants us to realize that He holds us along with every pain and challenge we face. What lies ahead may be unknown to us, yet all is known to Him. Not any detail of our existence goes unnoticed by our Heavenly Father. His promise is that He will never let us go, through our pains, amidst our disappointments, during our loneliness, and while we are anxious. That means that, even at the point in life when we face its end...we need not fear. Our natural human reaction may be that we will miss the people and the events we will leave behind. Yet there is the wonder and bliss of eternity with God that lies before us. So, with God's promises and living in hope, we abide in Him and are called to live with: Anxiety removed! Anticipation real!]]> http://www.academyofthecross.org/reflection.php?btnRec= http://www.academyofthecross.org/reflection.php?btnRec= Tue, 15 May 2012 09:00:00 GMT