Elemental: S2 - Day 2

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

Regularly, throughout my life, I have prayed for clarity. I could boldly follow God if the pathway seemed clear. At times, I have been confident that God has answered my prayer. But there are other times when I don’t see the path, hear His voice, or feel assured about what way to turn, where to go, or how to live. What then? Lack of clarity doesn’t give us permission to sit down on the path, paralyzed. Somehow, amidst confusion, we must find a way to move forward. But where does this put us in our relationship with God?

In his book Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning tells the story of famous ethicist John Kavanaugh’s trip to Calcutta, where he hoped to work with Mother Teresa. A few months into his labors, Kavanaugh asked Mother Teresa to pray for him amidst a personal crisis. “What do you want me to pray for?” she asked. He responded, “Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.”  Her reaction was short and shocking. “No, I will not do that.” When he asked why not, Mother Teresa said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” This dismayed Kavanaugh since it appeared that Mother Teresa had clarity in her life, and he was only asking for the same. Mother Teresa laughed and replied, “I have never had clarity. What I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”

So now I pray for understanding, for glimpses into these “higher ways.” And I pray that I can make sense of the difficult situations I find myself in. But more than these, I ask for trust, the kind of trust that dominates over confusion and answerless questions. If I’m honest, this prayer leads me to a confession that many in my profession need to make. We’ve buckled under the pressure to act like we know more than we could. This pressure turns leaders like me into fakes, pretenders, and frauds, passing ourselves off as some kind of spiritual answer key. In so doing, we perpetuate the myth that a faithful follower of Jesus is measured by the texts we can cite and the doctrinal proofs we can give. Lord, forgive us.

May the one who can see the things you cannot bless you with peace, hope, and deep trust as you continue on this reconstruction journey.

1. What is a belief that is currently very clear to you?
2. What personal decision(s) do you wish you had greater clarity over?
3. What area of your life should you release to God as a statement of trust?