REFLECTIONS

Power Failures

Thunder cracked! Lights flickered. Darkness struck. Power outages aren’t unusual, but neither are they welcomed. Darkness is unsettling. It drives us to grasp for light. Out of habit, we flip on light switches only to feel foolish when lights don’t come on. Darkness controls until power is restored.

Fortunately, thunderstorms don’t occur every day, but I still seem to have daily power failures anyway. It’s as if my mind is battery-operated, and my batteries play out pretty quickly each day. The connection with God usually begins strong enough, but then my conscious mind begins to drift, gliding my link with him into darkness. But Henri Nouwen suggests there is a stronger connection to God than the conscious mind.

Nouwen explains that connection through the heart isn’t dependent on the conscious mind. The heart, the biblical one, “refers to the source of all physical, emotional, intellectual, volitional, and moral energies,” Nouwen writes. “From the heart arise knowable impulses as well as conscious feelings, moods, and wishes. The heart, too, has its reasons and is the center of perception and understanding. Finally, the heart is the seat of the will: it makes plans and comes to good decisions. Thus, the heart is the central and unifying organ of our personal life.”[1]

God’s Spirit dwells in the heart Nouwen reminds. “The heart speaks to heart, because there we stand before the face of the Lord, all-seeing, within us.”[2] Still, we were born to run on batteries. But I think we come equipped with the rechargeable kind, so we need not face darkness.

Remember, God created the heavens and the earth in seven days; but also remember He rested on the seventh day. And He tells us likewise to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. That’s the day to reconnect, recharge; to keep the heart connection strong when the battery power needs strengthening. And, don’t forget, God’s power outlet is always nearby. Its label reads:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6-7)

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

[1] Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, (New York, Random House Publishing, 1981), p. 74-75

[2] ibid

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