Prodigal: I was thinking I need to relax more.
Me: Really?
Prodigal: Yes, but I need to thank God in the process.
This is from the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
We are tempted to believe there is nothing we can do. If all human strivings end in moral bankruptcy (and having tried it, we know it is so), and if righteousness is a gracious gift from God (as the Bible clearly states), then is it not logical to conclude that we must wait for God to come and transform us? Strangely enough, the answer is no. The analysis is correct–human striving is insufficient and righteousness is a gift from God–but the conclusion is faulty. Happily there is something we can do. We do not need to be hung on the horns of the dilemma of either human works or idleness. God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.
Sometimes you think what you do does not matter, but do not forget to be in God’s presence and do not forget the power of fasting in God’s presence.
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
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