Holy Monday

“Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24

Again we wake to a very dark morning and the threat of severe flooding in our region. Again we face harsh winds and difficult circumstances. And it is only Monday. It feels like the best thing to do is to go back to bed. The best thing is to bury oneself, hiding away from the challenges and all the onslaughts that might try one's patience - and even more - try one's faith. The rain floods down our roof and the basement is beginning to fill. How natural it is to turn away from all of this and wonder where God is in all of this. Some might wonder whether God has power at all. Some days it seems as if the darkness has won.

Jesus, in some of the darkest days of his life, turns to his disciples and tells them to have faith. He tells them even if they ask for something monumental, God will answer their prayers. He tells them simply, "have faith in God." And despite his simple directions, they struggled and wandered as we do today. They saw and touched his power and yet sometimes doubted God's love for them. As we do today.

Today, I want to get up and have faith. I want to pray and seek God in every challenge today, seeking God's power not my own in the resolution of the most embedded knots. And I want to live knowing God is answering prayers, moving mountains, turning the wind and the waves - giving us all what we need to walk through our darkest hours. May we pray today, believing there is an answer from God and love's solution is at hand.