Self-Assertion

I could have written this as a review of this book, This is The Day The Lord Has Made, by Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen, but I’ve only been reading these daily meditations for about a month.  I previously read Into Your Hands Father by Fr. Stinissen and it made my Christmas list last year, so I thought there might be some gems in this book of daily meditations.

The following meditation for July 3 is one; I am sure there are more (The bold points are mine).  You might want to pick up this book.

Unnecessary Self-Assertion

Conscious that God affirms you, you can affirm yourself.  You don’t need to analyze yourself and dig up your positive qualities.  If you build your self-confidence on things such as capability and intellect, you will never reach such deep affirmation.  You have no idea how long you will retain your health, intelligence, and strength.

Only if you affirm yourself in God’s affirmation of you, do you live in the truth, and only in the truth will you find complete security.  When you know that you are valuable in the eyes of God, you don’t need to find reasons to prove your worth.

Likewise, you are no longer in need of asserting yourself with others.  The tendency to assert oneself, which is rooted in the insecurity we all feel, slowly melts away when you learn to rest in God’s love.  There is no reason to be so sensitive to the opinions of others if you know the opinion God has of you.

Those who can affirm themselves as being affirmed and loved by God will not find it difficult to affirm and love others.  This is evident in the life of Jesus.  He was totally safe in the love of the Father.  Because he rested in the Father’s affirmation he felt no threat from anyone and was free to meet anyone and anything full of love.  The love he received from the Father was an inexhaustible spring in him, and from it flowed a mighty river out into the world.

Jesus wants to give you his own life; he wants you to receive him and live the same life as he lives.