The Deeper Journey of Lent
Read Psalm 25 http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=291612452
“Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—because
you are the God who saves me. I put my hope in you all day long.” –Psalm 25:4-5
Lent is often described as a journey. Throughout the season of Lent we journey with
Jesus through his ministry - through the healings, teachings, and conflicts
that led him to the cross. As we journey
through the depths of Jesus’ life and death, we are also invited to journey
through the depths of our own life. We
are invited to ask ourselves, “how is it with my soul?”
– to take a good look at ourselves and examine if and when we are walking in
the ways of Jesus. Our Lenten journey is
to go deeper and deeper into the depths of ourselves so that we might welcome
God even there.
The hard truth is - this journey into our
depths can be treacherous. Because, if
we are honest with ourselves, we will not always like what we find. And so, this prayer from Psalm 25
reverberates with us. “Make your ways
known to me, Lord; teach me your paths.”
This is our prayer throughout Lent.
To know God’s ways – to really know them
in the depths of our beings. So that
God’s ways are our ways, even without trying.
So that when we look within we see God’s fingerprints everywhere.
The good news is God does not leave us to
journey alone. God walks with us every
step of the way. When we discover
beautiful parts of our souls, we hear God saying “Well done,
good and faithful servant.”
And when we find those parts of ourselves that we’d rather not see, we
hear God whispering, “I love you even now. Let me make this new.”
And God sends us on this journey with tools. We call them spiritual practices, or spiritual disciplines. These tools help us to connect with God and to ourselves. They help us learn God’s path and discern God’s leading. Each week throughout these 40 days, we will focus on a different practice. And we invite you to put them into your spiritual tool belt and use them. Practice them. They are gifts from God to help you on the journey.
Laura Johnson
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