Wandering
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
SUNDAY, March 10
Psalm 107:1-16
Psalm 107 describes a litany of troubles this life brings, experiences of suffering to which we all can relate. For each trial the psalmist proclaims good news: that God has always been and will continue to be our healer, our redeemer, and our comfort, no matter what we face. I am particularly struck by the phrase “Some wandered in desert wastes” (v. 4, NRSV). It brings to mind the lostness and confusion so many people are feeling in today’s world. So many things are changing so quickly in our culture, with both institutions and values seeming to shift beneath our feet that we don’t know where to find solid ground. Yet we are reminded that our foundation was, is, and always will be God. He promises not only to deliver us from the distress of our confusion, but also to set us on a straight path forward through every day.
Lord, teach us to release our dependence on the status quo and to put our trust completely in you today, you whose love endures forever. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: NEIGHBORS IN NEED
Stilling the Storm
MONDAY, March 11
Psalm 107:17-32
“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven” (vv. 29-30, NIV).
In moments of self-reflection on my prayer life, I’ve pondered what I should ask God for in times of trouble. Do I ask God to take away every problem? Or do I ask for internal strength and faith in facing the issue? Another way to ask the question, I suppose, is this: Is the storm that needs stilling the external dilemma or my internal anxiety about the problem? The good news, of course, is that God cares about both the external and the internal, and he promises help on both fronts. But I’m realizing that my ultimate sense of wellbeing and shalom in Christ rests not on what happens to me but in I how I respond to the inevitable struggles of life.
Lord, in whatever I face today, hush the waves of anxiety within me. Still my inner storms with your peace. AMEN.
Life Lessons
TUESDAY, March 12
Isaiah 30:18-21
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (v. 21).
When we pray, particularly when we pray about our trials, we’ve all experienced different answers from God. Sometimes God gives us a resounding, “Yes!” But sometimes we hear, “No,” and trust that God has something better in mind for us. Often God says, “Wait.”
God seems to use the opportunity of our need to help us to grow in faith, to believe that he is at work bringing together his purposes in our lives. Waiting on God in prayer need not be passive. Isaiah reminds us that the Lord is the great teacher in our lives, using every circumstance to shape our faith and character. And so God invites us in our time of waiting to open our hearts to him with the question, “Lord, what are you teaching me through this experience of waiting on you?”
What is God teaching you today?
Gracious God, thank you that you do not waste any of my life experiences, that you are always at work in teaching me, shaping me to be more like you. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: PEOPLE SEEKING SAFETY FROM WAR
For God So Loved
WEDNESDAY, March 13
John 3:14-16
I wonder if some of the Scripture passages that are most familiar to us lose a bit of their potency in our hearts sometimes. The words may be so solidly fixed in our minds that we don’t always stop to ponder their meaning or to let the Spirit speak a fresh word to us through them.
John 3:16 has been like that for me, I’m afraid. But recently I have been blessed by Eastern Orthodox friends who have helped me to hear it anew. I realized that in reading the verse over and over I have often emphasized what has changed for me through Christ’s sacrifice: once I was lost, now I’m found. But the Orthodox put the emphasis on what hasn’t changed: God’s love for us. In fact, some surmise that God’s love for us is so great and his desire for fellowship with us so consuming, that he would have sent us Jesus even if we had not needed redemption. It is all about the love!
Dear Lord, let me savor the unbounding and never-ending love you have for me today. AMEN.
Coming into the Light
THURSDAY, March 14
John 3:17-21
“Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (v. 21).
Light is a marvelous metaphor for Jesus, God’s ultimate gift of love for us all. As we see from this passage, the light can be a double-edged sword. All that is good is naturally drawn to the light, while what is not good is repelled by the light. Yet the beauty of the light is that it invites all of us who are harmed by the darkness not to stay hidden but to come into the light for healing. The light comes not to condemn but to save, not to punish but to heal.
What are the hidden places in our lives we are afraid to bring into the light of day? What is God inviting us to bring into the light for healing?
Gracious Jesus, you are the light of the world. Open my heart to trust in you, to bring the dark places of my life to you for healing today. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: COUNTRIES RECEIVING REFUGEES
Alive in Christ!
FRIDAY, March 15
Ephesians 2:1-7
“Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (vv. 4-5).
The teaching and preaching of P. P. Waldenström, one our great forebearers in the Covenant, is key to understanding our Covenant ethos and the way we live and communicate the gospel of Jesus. Waldenström emphasized how all of God’s transforming work in our lives has been motivated purely by God’s love for us. God’s heart is broken by the separation from us created by sin, and he is moved by love and grace to give us the greatest gift, Jesus. How blessed we are to have a loving Father who rescues us from our own folly and self-destructive tendencies and brings us into fellowship with him through his Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit! Take a moment to give thanks to the Father today for this indescribable gift.
Gracious Abba, thank you for giving us your Son, Jesus. Thank you for setting us free from all that has bound us and kept us from you, for giving us new life to be savored every day by your Spirit. AMEN.
God’s Poems
SATURDAY, March 16
Ephesians 2:8-10
I love how the Apostle Paul reminds us that the gracious gift of salvation we have received in Christ is not an excuse to continue in darkness. Rather, it becomes our very motivation, our empowerment to live lives of good works, passing on the life-transformation we have received. The phrase “for we are what he has made us” is a broad translation of the Greek word poema. In other words, Paul says we are God’s poems, works of art created from his heart of love to pass on that heart of love to everyone we meet.
Ponder the idea that you are God’s work of art. How does that shape how you step into your life today?
O Lord, thank you for the precious gift of being your child, your creation. As your work of art, I ask you to let all that I do and say today reflect your beauty! AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
