Lenten Devotionals
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5| Week 6| Holy Week
Monday, February 25
Scripture
1 Samuel 16:7b “…for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
This verse is part of the account of the prophet and judge of Israel, Samuel, as he responded to God’s instruction to anoint a new king of Israel. The story tells about the tall, handsome sons of Jesse passing before him, and how Samuel thought surely one of them would be God’s choice for king. Instead, it was the youngest one, David, who was chosen. In later Scripture, David will be described as “a man after God’s own heart.”
It is both confronting and comforting to know that God looks into our hearts, and knows who and what we really are. This means that God sees the parts of us we are not so proud of, but it also tells us that God knows our yearning to be whole, to be faithful.
Can we accept with joy the fact that God knows our hearts? Can we learn to look at the people around us—the ones who trouble us, as well as the ones we love—as God does, looking into their hearts and seeing their struggles?
Thought for the day: God not only loves us as we are, but also loves us enough to change us.
Prayer: God of my heart, be the God of my life. Amen.
Tuesday, February 26
Scripture
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
The shepherd image may not speak so clearly to us today, but in Bible times it meant protection, safety, nurture, and guidance. An old hymn of the church says it this way:
“The King of Love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never.
I nothing lack if I am his,
and he is mine forever.”
Living in a culture that encourages us to want what we want, and want it now, we may not always know the difference between what we want and what we need. What we need is right relationship with God…with others…with our deepest selves. If we remember who we are, and whose we are, our deepest needs will be met.
Thought for the day: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” St. Augustine
Prayer: God, of your goodness give me yourself; for you are sufficient for me. I cannot properly ask anything less, to be worthy of you. If I were to ask less, I should always be in want. In you alone do I have all. Amen. (Julian of Norwich, England, 15th century, United Methodist Hymnal 495)
Wednesday, February 27
Scripture
Psalm 23:2-3
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name/s sake.
Here is a good word for those of us who are always striving, always working, filled with the zeal of faithful disciples…and perhaps beginning to weary with all the striving, working, and doing of their lives. God calls us—urges us—to times of rest and contemplation. God knows our need for renewal and refreshment. The world calls us in many directions, and in responding to those calls, we often turn away from God. But God does not turn away from us—if we will only turn back, God will restore us to right relationship. Even in the midst of busy, urban lives, we can find green pastures and still waters for our soul. Look for the places and situations in which you can rest in God.
Thought for the day:
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
(Psalm 23:2-3, from The Message, Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible)
Prayer: Teach us, God of peace, to still our constant movement, to pause from our ceaseless activity, to turn down the volume of our noisy lives, that we may hear your voice and follow your leading. Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Amen.
Thursday, February 28
Scripture
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
In Biblical thought, darkness meant fear—who knew what unseen dangers might be lurking near? A flock of sheep, stumbling along a dark path, might be comforted by the touch of the shepherd’s staff…and even one who had turned away from the flock might, in the end, be grateful for the rod that brought it back to safety. Wherever we must walk, in the darkness of grief, loss, confusion, and despair, God, our shepherd, walks with us.
Thought for the day: “In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone.” (from A Statement of Faith of the United Church of Canada)
Prayer: Faithful God, you have promised to be with us always. We praise and thank you for that promise! Help us to trust your word. Give us strength and endurance for the journey, that we may walk in hope and faith, even in the darkest valleys. We pray in the name of Jesus, who walked in faith to the cross, and rose victorious over death. Amen.
Friday, February 29
Scripture
Psalm 23:5b-6
“…you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
My mother’s long life included times of hardship and difficulty, but was full of blessing—for her and for all who knew her. Entering her ninth decade, she wrote her own paraphrase of this psalm.
Psalm 23 – As I have experienced it…by Vera Abbey (1901-1997)
The Lord is my guide and my protector. I lack nothing I need.
He gives me quiet times for resting; he leads me in peaceful paths.
When I wander he restores me, renewing my inner life and love. Because I am called by his name, he guides me into ways that are right and true.
Even when I am faced with great pain or unhappiness—even when I look at death—I am not afraid, because God is there with me. His strength and his mercy comfort me.
In the years of the Depression when I was very poor and had no income, my children and I were fed, clothed, and sheltered.
I have been given bodily comfort, friendship, and honor above any reasonable expectation. My cup overflows with love and thanksgiving.
I am confident that my Lord’s loving kindness and tender mercy will surround me all the days of my life; and I expect to live in God’s house forever.
Thought for the day: “The Lord is my…..” I invite you to complete the thought…perhaps even write your own paraphrase of the psalm. How is God present in your life?
Prayer: Gracious God, make me sensitive to all the evidences of your goodness; and may I, trusting in you, free myself of the terror of death, and feel free to live intensely and happily the life you have given me. Amen. (Rubem Alves, Brazil, 20th century, UMH 360)
Saturday, March 1
Scripture
John 9:1-5
As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Even now, as in Biblical times, there are those who ascribe misfortunes of all kinds to acts of God. While it is true that our sin always leads to suffering, at some level, it is not true that all suffering is caused by sin. Things go wrong—sometimes horribly wrong. A tornado rages across a twenty-mile swath of homes, causing death and destruction. A malignant disease rages through a human body, wasting it. A baby is born with life-threatening or disabling problems. Wanting desperately to make sense of the unbearable, we ask why these things happen. We want there to be a cause—something to fix, or someone to blame.
Jesus told his disciples that there was no sin involved in the blind man’s situation, and then went to work doing what Jesus did—healing, bringing light out of darkness. Jesus reminds us that in the midst of darkness, God is there.
Thought for the day: New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. (from the Presbyterian Worshipbook, U.S.A., 20th century, quoted in The United Methodist Book of Worship.)
Prayer: This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church)
Sunday, March 2
Scripture
John 9:25, 32-33
“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see….Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. You would think there would have been nothing but rejoicing among all who knew of this miraculous event. Instead, religious authorities could only complain that this wonderful, life-giving deed had been performed on the Sabbath, when any sort of work was forbidden. Stuck in their view of the way things should be, they were blind to the wonderful work of God. Jesus did not look like, did not act like their picture of a holy man, and they did not want that picture changed.
We sometimes find it difficult to recognize or deal with the mysterious ways of God…we are sometimes uncomfortable with God’s choice of people chosen to witness to God’s purposes and plans. Seeing only what we want to see, we may be blind to God’s new revelations, God’s new paths for us to travel. I wonder what it is that God wants us to see and understand today.
Thought for the day: From the cowardice that dares not face new truth, from the laziness that is content with half-truth, from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, Good Lord, deliver me. (Kenya, United Methodist Hymnal 597)
Prayer: Thou who art over us, thou are art one of us, thou who art: Give me a pure heart, that I may see thee; a humble heart, that I may hear thee; a heart of love, that I may serve thee; a heart of faith, that I may abide in thee. Amen. (Dag Hammerskjold, Sweden, 20th century, United Methodist Hymnal, 392
