We have officially entered the Holy Week and also the final phase of our Lenten retreat. Whether you have been accompanying us for the past 34 days of the retreat or have just begun the journey, we invite you to cherish this last stage of preparation for Easter, and through our Lord Jesus Christ, to feel deeply the Father’s intense desire for us, and at the same time, deepen our thirst for God.
Perhaps, like many of our brothers and sisters, you are worried and anxious about many things in life, feeling that life is complicated, distressing, and helpless, as if there is no way out. Life seems to be tangled knots of unsolvable problems, causing you great pain. We need to know that not all of life’s problems have answers, and some problems seem unsolvable. This is the reality that we must accept.
We are not God, and we don’t have enough wisdom to fathom God’s master plan and the various reasons behind things that have happened. Just as we don’t need to understand how medication works, we just need to believe the doctor and follow his instructions to take the medication. Then, we will be healed. Similarly, we don’t need to know God’s reasons and His designs behind everything, but only need to follow His will with complete trust, and cooperate with His guidance for us, then things will unfold according to God’s best designs.
If we approach God with a skeptical attitude and question His faithfulness and love for us, demanding His explanation for our every misfortune, we will tend to be obstinate and unwilling to follow His guidance, but blindly follow our own will and the ways of the world. In the end, we will suffer the consequences.
As we stand before the all-knowing and all-powerful God, we must acknowledge that we cannot fully understand or comprehend everything.
We are short-sighted and ignorant. Just like how children relate to their parents, when we are unable to comprehend things and the reasons behind them, we can only believe in and obey our parents, trusting that they have our best interest in mind, rather than being obstinate and demanding answers for every matter.
As St. Paul said to the Corinthians, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12). We need to humbly acknowledge that this reflects our condition in life. As long as we place our trust in God wholeheartedly, we will surely have a more abundant life. This is how life works, and more so, this is the promise of the Father’s Love to all of us as His children.
Therefore, when we are faced with various problems in life, instead of being obsessed with demanding answers for everything that happened, it is wiser for us to spend our time on seeking God’s will in the present moment, tackling our problems proactively while carrying out God’s will.
We must believe that no matter how difficult and painful the situation is, if it is God’s will or something He permits to happen, there must be a divine reason which is beyond our understanding. It serves to sanctify us, preparing us to enter God’s Kingdom.
Isn’t it true? The most important goal of our earthly journey is to prepare ourselves well to enter eternal life and return to our Father’s house. Therefore, we must not allow ourselves to desire earthly things more than heavenly things, lest we put the cart before the horse and miss out on what is most important.
We are not like cars that retire once they have reached their limit. When God created human beings, it was His design as well as His desire that we share His eternal blessings in heaven. Therefore,
our lives are created for eternity, not just for the brief earthly journey. As such, our focus should not be on the passing world, but on preparing to receive eternal blessings.
We only need to endure the temporary hardships of this world in exchange for eternal happiness. Isn’t this incredible news? Most importantly, Jesus Christ has already paid the ultimate price for us, redeeming us from the heavy debt of sin. What reason do we have to complain that the Father allows us to face the temporary suffering that is rightfully ours?
Without reserve, the Father has already given us everything, and the Son willingly gave His all for us while we were still sinners, bearing the cross given to Him by the Father and becoming the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
As we enter Holy Week, let us learn from Jesus who humbly followed the Father’s will without questioning, and let us imitate the unconditional and unreserved love of Jesus to fulfill the Father’s promise of His love for all people!
Reflection
Would you be willing to learn from Jesus, to set aside your own desires and humbly accept the cross that God has prepared for you?
Do you resolve to renounce any doubts you have in God even when there are no answers to your problems, that you still have absolute trust in Him, accepting His plans and His will for you?
Do you believe that the most important purpose of our earthly journey is to prepare ourselves for eternal life? And in what ways are you willing to change your lifestyle accordingly?
Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, I can’t believe that You were willing to enter Jerusalem for me, to step into the snare of death that had already been set for You, and to slowly move towards the cross, in order to save me from eternal death. But I have never really taken your love to heart! Please do not let me refuse to bear the crosses that come my way and complain to You about them for any reason. In this Holy Week, I desire to feel the intensity of Your love and to dwell in the lavish love that the Father has for me. Lord, I resolve to love You without reserve from this day onwards!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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Fundraising Appeal
Thank you for participating in this 40-day Lenten spiritual journey, I Thirst. We hope you have been inspired and have benefitted from it! For the spiritual benefit of all of you, Fountain of Love and Life devotes a lot of time and effort in producing various spiritual projects every year, and all our ministries are sustained by the generous donations of our supporters. We hope you will support us with prayers and donations. Please make an online donation using the button at the top of the website Lent.FLL.cc. Thank you very much for your support. God bless!
The following is the “Farmer of Hearts: I Thirst team, including FLL staff and volunteers.
Please kindly pray for them. May God protect them and sustain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Project Manager: Michael Lam
Writer: Paul Yeung
Editors: Bonny Chan, Rosa Tse
English Translators: Bonny Chan, Sammy Ip, Zenia Lau
Cantonese Narrator: Margaret Woo
English Narrators: Bonny Chan, Sammy Ip
Mandarin Narrators: Anthony X. and team
Audio Editors: Arnold Chan, Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Margaret Woo
YouTube Editors: Fonte Ip, Damaso Wong
Graphics: Francis Lai, Rosa Tse
Website: Angela Wong, Patricia Young
Podcast: Angela Wong
Social Media: Clara Chang, Yollie Leung, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse, Damaso Wong