Overshadowing God 

   “I do not know you God, because I am in the way.  Please help me to push myself aside.” (Flannery O’Conner, “A Prayer Journal”) 

   I sometimes feel like Flannery O’Conner, that I am letting my wants and desires get in the way of knowing Him as I should.  I focus on my own concerns when I should be seeking His will and following it.

   We are a self-important people.  We tend to look at ourselves as the gold standard and everyone else as a cheap imitation.  Our thoughts, our ideas are more important, our troubles are more bothersome, our sorrows deeper than anyone else’s.  Others, including God, come second in our thoughts, we are always first.

   Humility is considered weakness rather than strength, our ego recoils at the thought of being humble and meek.  We insist on standing on our own two feet even when we are standing in quicksand.  In our arrogance we refuse to seek the help of God, though that is what we need most.

   God’s light is always shining upon us.  But like the moon sometimes eclipses the light of the sun, our ego sometimes eclipses the light of God.  We need to get out of the way and bask in His light. 

Father, shine Your light upon me.

Let my selfishness not overshadow You.

Let me die to self.

Let me live in the light of Your love. 

Amen