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Gary G. Hoag
“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”— Psalm 16:9-11
“True contemplation is the work of a love that transcends all satisfaction and all experience to rest in the night of pure and naked faith. This faith brings us so close to God that it may be said to touch and grasp Him as He is, though in darkness. And the effect of such a contact is often a deep peace that overflows into the lower faculties of the soul and thus constitutes an "experience."
Yet that experience or feeling of peace always remains an accident of contemplation, so that the absence of this "sense" does not mean that our contact with God has ceased. To become attached to the "experience" of peace is to threaten the true and essential and vital union of our soul with God above sense and experience in the darkness of a pure and perfect love.
And so, although this sense of peace may be a sign that we are united to God, it is still only a sign-an accident. The substance of the union may be had without any such sense, and sometimes when we have no feeling of peace or of God's presence He is more truly present to us than He has ever been before.”
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) in New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions, 1979) 211-212. Click here to download this contemporary classic
Today is the last post from this book for the time being. I hope it has blessed you. Read it if you have never read it. The download is free.
The reward of contemplation is a glad heart which knows that regardless of the situations in life, God’s got everything sorted. Any experience of peace is a gift and an accident of contemplation. Remember Jesus told us that our lives would be filled with troubles.
This is important to note because if we do not feel God’s presence, which is often the case, it is not because He is not with us. Instead, we should remind ourselves that He’s working for us.
I am speaking at the Lausanne Workplace Forum for Africa and the Middle East today. I appreciate your prayers for me as I inspire workers to participate with ministry blokes and coach them toward sustainable ministry rooted in accountability and generosity. Thanks.
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