Taking Us By The Hand

"Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him and the boy stood up." - Mark 9:27

I've been going through a dry spell with God lately. I just keep feeling like I don't do enough for Him, I'm not good enough and don't deserve Him. I'm too much of a sinner. I told a friend of mine yesterday that when I feel like this, I usually try harder to pray more and more and end up getting angry with myself because I become distracted and lose interest in praying altogether. But this morning, I read this verse from the gospel according to Mark and it really spoke to me. I realized that I am trying to do too much - doing too much for God is good, but I was missing something very important… God. I was depending on myself rather than on God to do the work, as if I was so powerful and didn't need Him. Jesus lifted this boy up with His hands and that's the only way I can get out of this dry spell, by praying with patience and waiting for Jesus to pick me up. I can fuss about this all day, but until He picks me up, I'm not going anywhere.

The big idea here is that we really need to learn to become solely dependent on God and learn to get rid of our self-reliance. Every time God wills it, He gives us the grace to accomplish something new, and no matter how hard we try, unless Jesus gives us His hand, we just aren't capable of doing it on our own. As of today, I am at peace about myself because I'll just rely on Him instead of beating myself up about things, and I'll rely on Him to bring me forward when I'm ready.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, please give me Your hand. I am a small little thing before You, a horrible sinner that would fade away if You ever left me. I recognize that You are the Lord of my life and I count on Your Divine Providence for everything. In Your Name we pray, amen.