Wednesday, March 12, 2014

A Lenten Thought

“Turn Yourself to me and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted.  The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses!  Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive my sins” (Psalm 25:16-18).

Imagine a world in which we worry more about evaluating our own sins (and notice how we are inclined to ask for mercy!), and stop worrying so much about the sins of others (whom we eagerly condemn!); a world in which life bears down on us and we seek mercy rather than someone to blame.

Such introspection seems overbearing and sometimes needless – after all, why worry when we are already redeemed/saved/justified (pick your word)?  Yet even as we seek sanctification (spiritual perfection in which we become more Christ-like with each passing day), we must always be on guard against our human impulses; those impulses that allow us to ignore the needs of others in favor of our own desires and demands, those times when it is much easier to withhold our tithes and other offerings than to allow ourselves to be vulnerable even a little, those times when we are just too distracted or too tired to spend some alone time in prayer with the One who seeks us out and beckons us into a life only He can envision and give!

Prayers of confession acknowledge all these things, but prayers of confession always approach the Throne of Grace with confidence in the Eternal Covenant the Lord Himself has offered to His people!  Only when we face our humanness with honesty can we expect our spiritual selves to be fed … and to the full!

Let us continue this journey of Lent with high expectations for what the Lord will reveal to those who earnestly seek His face!

Blessings,

Michael

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