How Might Gratitude Help Us to Let Go of our Fears?

Last Sunday in worship, we shared our joys and concerns with each other.  If you were there, what did you notice about this?

What I noticed happened even before the service began.  As people arrived, I offered two plates, one with slips of paper on which to note our joys, and one with slips of paper for our concerns.  People were invited to put completed slips in the third plate, located on the table at the front of the chapel.  Rev. Donna read these out during the service.  (My apologies to the hard working musicians who didn’t get to participate fully).

I noticed that as I offered the plates, most people chose a joy slip OR a concern slip, rather than both.  (I chose Concerns; I had a lot on my mind last week.)

This week, I have been thinking about what we choose to bring to God…and whether I bring my joys to him often enough.  I always seem to have a lot of concerns!

By placing more emphasis on my concerns than on my joys, am I forgetting about the wonderful gifts that God gives me?  Am I living from a place of scarcity and what I think I need rather than a place of absolute certainty that God knows best what I really need?

Ingratitude…is a forgetting of the graces, benefits, and blessings received, and as such it is the cause, beginning, and origin of all sins and misfortunes. - Ignatius

This week, our fourth Sunday of Lent, we will continue our series on Letting Go. You may recall that Rev. Donna reflected last week on letting go of independence.  This week, she will continue with the related theme of Letting Go of Control. 

Here are the scripture passages for this week:

Ephesians 2. 8-10  NIVUK and MSG

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.  

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

  

Matthew 11. 29-30 MSG

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Letting go of control is hard for me, so I’m looking forward to hearing from Rev. Donna.  I’m also concentrating on my joys this week.

Image by storyset on Freepik