Our image of God is important for our spiritual life; we are often encouraged to reflect and become aware of what our image of God is. This directly affects our lives, how and when we pray, our image of self and how we relate to others, and how we face different things that happen in our lives.
Many of us grow up thinking suffering, our suffering especially, is from God. We are told pain and suffering are inevitable. Before we can enjoy goodness, we must suffer; therefore, anything that is easy or pain-free becomes suspicious. This could be because of the unhelpful picture of God we are operating from. We might believe that we are suffering in the present moment
because we are being prepared for joy later and that joy-experience without any suffering is not authentic.
Pain is a part of our human existence; we cannot run away from pain. Our identity as followers of Christ does not make us immune to suffering. We can, however, like the Canaanite woman who called out to Jesus, seek help. It is easy to be comfortable with
our suffering because we believe it is all part of God’s big plan to prepare us for success. Like the Canaanite woman, we are invited today to begin to let go of our suffering by calling out to Jesus to help us. And we know he will help us - not because we are helpless and cannot do things alone - but because of his love for us.
Spend a few moments today
reflecting on any pain or suffering. What brought this about? Ask the Lord for his healing and mercy.
Reflections by Morongoa
Selepe
