On God's Mercy

I am reading a beautiful book. It is so simply written, so clear in what is being said. Every page has a phrase, a line, that causes me to stop, reflect and remember. I read this passage today on the way home from work.

As you stand before God, think about the mercy he has shown you, the enlightenment he has given you, the good thoughts he has inspired in you, the pitfalls of this world from which he has kept you safe, and the way he has helped you inwardly.

Allow yourself to be moved to tears as you remember all the precious signs of his goodness.

Think about the crosses he has entrusted to you so that you may become a living sacrifice, because they are the clear signs of his love. Let your gratefulness for the past inspire you with trust for the future. Be peruaded that he has loved you too much not to love you still.

Do not mistrust God - no, you must mistrust yourself. Remember that he is, as Saint Paul put it, "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." Ask him, with King David, "Lord, where is thy steadfast love of old?"

God has taken away the soft comfortable things from your life. Why? Because you need to be humbled and to come to know yourself; because in vain you have sought elsewhere for help and comfort.

From Meditations on the Heart of God by Francios Fenelon
Translated by Robert J. Edmonson