Thursday, 2nd Week: Painful Contradictions Push Us Toward God

"The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their way, according to the fruit of their doings." Jeremiah 17:9-10

The many contradictions of our lives-such as being home while feeling homeless, being busy while feeling bored, being popular while feeling lonely, being believers while feeling many doubts-can frustrate, irritate, and even discourage us. They make us feel that we are never fully present.

Every door that opens for us makes us see how many more doors are closed. But there is another response. These same contradictions can bring us into touch with a deeper longing, for the fulfillment of a desire that lives beneath all desires and that only God can satisfy.

Contradictions, thus understood, create the friction that can help us move toward God.

"Lord, help me to realize that my heart and mind will always be restless and conflicted until they rest in you."

Henri Nouwen