“Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet- Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet” — “The Higher Pantheism” a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
“All I ever wanted and all I ever needed was already there. Closer than the sunlight, nearer than the air.” – “Nearer than the Air” a song by Michahel Gott
“Multitudes in the valley of decision! Fortunes have been lost, opportunities passed up, chances for happiness gone glimmering, and minds left seething with unrest because many individuals have not schooled themselves in the fine art of making up their minds” (Eric Butterworth in “Making Decisions the Easy Way” — p. 159 in Celebrate Yourself!
We don’t have to flip a coin to know what to do.
Responsive Reading for Sunday, October 14
“Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice? On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand; By the gates at the approaches of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud: . . . ‘Mine are counsel and advice; Mine is strength; I am understanding. . . . Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. . . . happy those who keep my ways” (Proverbs 8:1-33).
God’s love makes it easier for me to make up my mind. “It’s like the air around me. It’s like the sunlight on my face. I feel the love of God surround me and I am touched by amazing grace.”
“When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you…. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:6-8).
“All I ever wanted and all I ever needed was already there — closer than the sunlight, nearer than the air.”
When “we are at a loss what to do . . . our eyes are turned toward you …. “The LORD says to you . . . ‘Do not fear or lose heart. [When the time comes] go out to meet [whatever it is]. and the LORD will be with you' . . . . Trust in the LORD, your God, and you will be found firm . . . and you will succeed . . . .” (II Chronicles 20:9-20).
I breathe in and I am filled with the Spirit and it is health to my body, strength to my mind, and joy to my soul, and I breathe out my simple prayer – Thank You, God!
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life . . . . Why are you anxious . . . ? . . . So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things . . . your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, * and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself” (Mt. 6:25-34). “Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say” (Mt. 10:19).
It is easy to decide when I just take time to breathe and pray first. “And my breath becomes a song that was singing all along, that is singing, singing everywhere. It is nearer than the air.”