Jordan Pond Acadia National Park Maine Picture by Jennifer Hansen
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.
Then with sobs I began to pray:
“You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
All your ways are mercy and truth;
you are the judge of the world.
And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
Punish me not for my sins,
nor for my inadvertent offenses,
nor for those of my ancestors.
“We sinned against you,
and disobeyed your commandments.
So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,
till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations
among whom you had dispersed us.
“Yes, your judgments are many and true
in dealing with me as my sins
and those of my ancestors deserve.
For we have not kept your commandments,
nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.
“So now, deal with me as you please,
and command my life breath to be taken from me,
that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.
It is better for me to die than to live,
because I have heard insulting calumnies,
and I am overwhelmed with grief.
“Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;
let me go to the everlasting abode;
Lord, refuse me not.
For it is better for me to die
than to endure so much misery in life,
and to hear these insults!”
On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,
it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse,
from one of her father’s maids.
For she had been married to seven husbands,
but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off
before they could have intercourse with her,
as it is prescribed for wives.
So the maid said to her:
“You are the one who strangles your husbands!
Look at you!
You have already been married seven times,
but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.
Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,
Because they are dead?
May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”
The girl was deeply saddened that day,
and she went into an upper chamber of her house,
where she planned to hang herself.
But she reconsidered, saying to herself:
“No! People would level this insult against my father:
‘You had only one beloved daughter,
but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!’
And thus would I cause my father in his old age
to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.
It is far better for me not to hang myself,
but to beg the Lord to have me die,
so that I need no longer live to hear such insults.”
At that time, then, she spread out her hands,
and facing the window, poured out her prayer:
“Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,
and blessed is your holy and honorable name.
Blessed are you in all your works for ever!”
At that very time,
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.
So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes,
so that he might again see God’s sunlight;
and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.
Emphasis mine Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a
We have included the entire reading for today because the book of Tobit is an amazing story.
If you haven’t read the Old Testament, this is one book you should read.
Why?
As we see in today’s reading, it starts with two people in deep distress.
Tobit is one of the remnants of Jewish people after the persecution of the Jewish people by the Babylonians for the sins the Jewish people committed.
Tobit is trying to live a just and holy life. He loses his sight and has to rely on his wife to provide food etc. Tobit had an easy time giving but is distressed with having to be the recipient of someone else’s charity, his wife.
We see in the third paragraph that Tobit is praying for death, so deep is his despair.
Next, we go to Sarah, who is also trying to do the will of God and has had seven husbands, all of whom died on the marriage bed. Sarah also wants to commit suicide.
God sends an Angle, Raphael, to come down and heal Tobit and Sarah.
You may want to take some time and read the entire account of how God works in both of their lives because I also believe that is happening today in all of our lives, but now we can pray, Thank you for the difficulties; I know you will take care of me.
Your prayer will be a prayer of hopeful confidence.
If you want to join Team Jesus, pray. Thank you, Father, for the difficulties (Name the difficulty……………) you have ALLOWED in my life; I know you will take care of me. Pray this until you smile, and that smile tells you, you are back with the Holy Spirit living in the “Spirit World.”
Sidebar:
This is Memorial Day Weekend week.
I am a Veteran and am filled with Joy for the time I spent serving our country.
I equate the time I spent serving our country to the time I, we, spend serving our Triune God.
Both fill me with Joy.
I have the pleasure of being asked to be the Grand Marshal of this year’s Memorial Day Parade. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would be asked to take on this honor, and that is also true with my service, trying to do the work God has asked me to do.
Life has been exciting as I opened my life up to listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit and doing God’s will.
We have traveled roads I never thought I would take, this blog being one example, and each road has led to meeting new people and new experiences.
Life has not been dull!
Celebrate this week the freedom to worship a God of Outrageous Love, listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit, and enjoy the life God has wanted for you from the beginning of your life.
Picture:
Jordan Pond Acadia National Park Maine Picture by Jennifer Hansen
Please keep Snapping!
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