Devotional Thought/Discussion Thought of the Day:

“Look, I am with you always, yes,  until the end of time”   Mt. 28:20 (NAB)  

 ¹⁹ Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; ²⁰ he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God’s glory.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (TEV)
“Work with cheerfulness, with peace, with presence of God. In this way you will also do your task with common sense. You will carry it through to the end. Though tiredness is beating you down, you will finish it off well; and your works will be pleasing to God.”  (1)

It doesn’t matter the job that we have, there are times where it can zap the life out of you.  Sometimes it is because it is too routine, and the same old tasks begin to bore us and tire us and drain all our energy from us.  Sometimes it is because our work is hard, our days are too long, and we become exhausted.  ( I love the study that says we get more work done working 55 hours a week than 70 – well I love to think about it – even as I probably prove it all too accurate.)

As I enter my second week of work since returning from the mission field, I know I am going to be exhausted by the end of this week – and some of my normal routine will suffer.  So as I am doing devotions today, I read the above quote by St. Josemaria – a man whose life makes mine seem sedate and peace-filled.  

His words resonate with some recent experience, my mission trip in China  where tiredness was itself overwhelmed by my awareness of God’s presence.  Of course He is with us everywhere, in every moment of our lives, because of His work in calling us to faith, in the work of God in our baptisms, as we are united to Christ’s death and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit is given residence in our lives. 

But, when we get tired, and when we get bored, do we remember this?  Or do we take the presence of God in our lives, and reduce it to some abstract, unconnected point of doctrine, some bit of trivial knowledge. 

My friends, the ancient greeting of the church, “The Lord is with you”, must take root in our lives, it is the essential truth that makes a difference – that God has invested Himself in us, in His people, in our lives.  

As we realize this, what happens is seen above, our lives become more focused, our vocations are lived out more completely.  Not because of our diligence, not because of our… goodness.  But because the presence of God changes what we do into something shared with Him. 

Walk with God… revel in His mercy, His love, His will to restore us, to cleanse us, to be His people, and He, our Lord, our God, our Dad.

So bored at work?  exhausted by the daily grind? 

Pray, and realize you dwell in the presence of God.

(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2691-2693). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.