Spiritually Exhausted? Finding God in Overwhelming Times

The readings for this Sunday touched me right from the first words of the First Reading from the Prophet Zephaniah: “Seek God.” What does it really mean to seek God, especially with so much evil and violence around us?

I consider myself to be a spiritual person, but to be honest, I find myself running out of steam lately. Sometimes I just go through the motions in prayer or get so distracted that I turn my attention elsewhere. These days, with everything going on in the world, my first instinct hasn’t always been to seek God in what’s happening. I think I’m just overwhelmed, and although it’s these times when I probably need to seek God the most, I also have the least amount of bandwidth to do it.

As I continue on with this reading, I see that it also tells us to seek justice and humility. It seems like it’s equating the pursuit of justice and humility with the pursuit of God, or at least, letting us know that seeking justice and humility are part of what it means to take refuge in God. Working to set things right in the world, working for equity and peace, and doing so with an earnest, authentic spirit may be themselves ways of moving toward God.

Pursuing justice is work and humility is a disposition, and so I wonder if seeking God involves both action and attitude. In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus spells it out pretty clearly in the Beatitudes. There are dispositions that bring us closer to God: blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, people who are merciful and clean of heart. Also, the Beatitudes point to the work people do. Blessed are those who make peace in the world, who work to bring about the Reign of God. They are blessed even when they are persecuted for the good they’re doing.

It seems like Jesus is calling us to not only take on these ways of being in the world, but to allow them to move us to do good in the world. When I’m poor in spirit, meek, merciful, etcetera, then I’m also moved to work for peace, even if it’s hard and there’s pushback and resistance. Maybe I should even expect pushback and resistance when I’m working for peace. However, despite opposition, working for God brings me closer to God.  

Also, even if there’s resistance from some, there’s also an enormous sense of solidarity and community from others. I personally seek and find God’s presence in all those who are doing God’s work. The stories in the news and my newsfeed are full of violence and abuse of power, but they’re also full of people’s resistance to oppression. There are countless stories of people who may be meek and humble themselves but who are also resolute in standing up for vulnerable people. There are people in Minnesota braving awful discomfort as they advocate for immigrants and also for the greater cause of freedom and justice in the United States. It’s a terrible challenge and maybe even a terrible amount of work, but they persevere. God’s presence is very clear to me in this work and in the people all over the country who are peacefully protesting the gross misuse of power.

People are fascinating, aren’t we? We can do some terrible things, mean and even cruel things, but we can also show so much goodness and strength, generosity and care. It’s in these moments of goodness and love when the Spirit of the Holy One shines through so clearly.

The thing is, when we seek God, we tend to find God because God wants to be found. And what then? Because finding God can be a beautifully profound experience of connection and comfort and peace and joy –all of these and more – but, at least for me, it doesn’t usually end there. When I encounter God, even a small glimmer of the divine, there’s often an invitation that comes with it. God calls me to do something. God extends a warm embrace – and also an invitation to move beyond that encounter and allow it to transform me, allow it to deepen and increase my actions and ways of being. To be a beatitude person, I need to respond to God’s call to be more and do more. Responding to God’s call is possible but also hard; it’s often something that pushes me beyond my comfort or ease or assumptions to love more deeply and serve more fully.

If you, like me, are feeling discouraged these days — and I mean just bowed down with the weight of things — I hope you find some encouragement in these words from Scripture and in the good things happening around us. In fact, we are part of all the good happening around us, this slow but sure movement from violence to peace, despair to hope, hate to love. God calls us to seek God because God desires good for us and from us; God desires us to have more of God. God is always seeking us. Maybe seeking God is simply turning to notice the gentle but profound force of goodness and light and love that’s right here the whole time, behind me, beside me, within me. In you. In us. In our striving to bring God’s reign to fulfillment, and in our rest, may we seek and find God the best we can. And when the sorrows of the world are many, may we know God’s love and presence in each other. When we seek, we will find God; God always wants to be found.

For reflection:

• When you hear the invitation to “seek God,” what rises up in you — hope, resistance, fatigue, longing, or something else?

• In these days, where have you glimpsed goodness, courage, or quiet faithfulness—in others or in yourself—even amid so much suffering?

• What would it mean for you to trust that God wants to be found, and that God is already seeking you?

• What invitation might God be offering you — to rest, grow, respond, or love more deeply?

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By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a vibrant spirituality ministry building community in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. A Sister of Divine Providence, she holds a Master’s in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. Sister Leslie guides retreats, offers spiritual direction, and nurtures vocations within her community. Passionate about helping people encounter God in everyday life, she delights in meaningful conversations, dancing, and spicy food along the way.