Devotions from Haase’s book, Living the Lord’s Prayer

When we pray, Deliver us from evil,  “we will never be delivered from evil until our egos are willing to put God back where he belongs and take a backseat to God’s will and kingdom.”

Most of us have experienced at least one tragedy in life where we asked, “Where are you God?”  Maybe we have felt abandoned by God and experienced the dark night of the soul, as Mother Teresa. But whether we feel times of desolation or consolation, the truth is that He remains as close to us a father to his children.  Our feelings are not a barometer of our souls for they can be an unreliable gauge of what is going on in our relationship to God.

Our trials can be a blessing as they wean us away from the ego and allow God to do his transforming work in our lives. Jesus bowed before the mystery of suffering and gave himself into the hands of his executioners. He embraced the cross. We can also find joy as we surrender to the acceptance of the trials that come to us. We do not have to protest, justify and defend ourselves when others speak against us. We can absorb the trial of what others do and know that the Lord has the final word.  We can  trust God and renounce our ego’s agenda!

“When we actively embrace the cross and allow it to try our faith like gold tested in fire; when we allow its pain and sorrow to move us beyond self-pity to sensitivity for the suffering of others, we are transformed into our truest selves.”

Let us remember that God can transform our testings, trials, and tragedies into moments of amazing grace!