Hey Church!

I have been reading a devotional during the season of Lent called The Road to Joy: A Lent-to-Easter Devotional from Christianity Today. As you know, Lent is a time to recognize two sides of the same coin: 1) that we are fallen, mortal beings, and 2) that we who trust in Jesus will be resurrected unto new life in His Kingdom on the last day. These future realities have profound lessons to teach us about the Christian life of faith in the here and now. 

One lesson I was reminded of in this little Lenten devotional today is that the practice of slowing down and recalling God’s past faithfulness is essential to a growing, maturing spiritual life. The author of today’s entry, John Starke, writes, “For an infant, dependent upon a mother’s milk, every meal is an emergency, every hunger pang a panic. Only after the consistent experience of being fed, never going without care and attention, does a child learn that when hunger comes, it’s going to be okay. Food has always come, and it will come again.” 

Do you feel that? Can you relate to that feeling of panic and need? I sure do! 

The author continues, “While an infant grows an instinct of being settled, we must be intentional about it.” King David taught us what to say in just such circumstances when he penned Psalm 131: “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.” That kind of intentional prayer of humble confidence in our Father is what I sense the Holy Spirit inviting me to do this weekend in preparation for Sunday. 

Will you set aside some time to join me in those prayers this weekend? Ask God to reveal any anxieties that occupy your mind and confess that they are “too great” for you. Take on the mindset of an infant and tell Him, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother… I will hope in you, LORD; you have never failed to provide for me.” Lastly, take some time to recall the specific ways that God has cared for you. Let each instance be an occasion for praise and thanksgiving, and allow His Spirit to use those memories to bolster your confidence that He sees your need and will yet again prove Himself faithful to provide.