Stepping Back

"I have often wondered why there is such an immense resistance in us to be with God. Why do we find prayer so hard, why do we always prefer to be busy instead of praying? Why do we keep seeing movies, going to parties, reading worthless books, running from one place to another? If God really exists and loves us, if he only wants to show us his love, why then is it so hard to give ourselves to him? Well, because when we enter into communion with God we have to face our demons, too. We have to face our greed, anger, lust, our rebellious nature, and our deep resentments against God himself. As long as we are busy and distracted we never really have to deal with who we are.
"We cannot avoid going to the desert if we want to make God our only concern. The desert might mean very different things for different people but by simply staying in the murkiness and ambiguity of our daily lives we come to know neither God nor the demon and our lives remain absurd or blind."

Henri Nouwen
Desert Wisdom