With Lent (a little more than) halfway over, it’s a good time (continue) to take a look at the following psalm, then at our selves, then back at the psalm.
Psalms 42:23; 43:3
As a hart (deer) longs for flowing streams, so longs my
soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living
God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me, let
them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling! Then
I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise thee with the lyre, O God, my God.
Are our voluntary Lenten disciplines making our souls thirst for God? Or are they just making our (families) duck into another room when they see us coming?
Are we going towards the altar of God - towards Easter Sunday - with exceeding joy, being led by God’s light and God’s truth? Or are we moaning and grumbling as we head towards
who-knows-where?
Lent isn’t a time to try to punish ourselves into being deserving of God’s grace. (Especially since that’s not possible, at Lent or any other time.)
Lent is a time to try to be our best selves, to take up new practices that lead us towards God and to leave behind practices that distract us from God.
If giving up chocolate has left us longing for
chocolate, rather than for God, perhaps this would be a good time to reassess. When we feel that twinge of desire for sweets, can we use it as a reminder to direct our thoughts towards God? Do we eat a carrot stick AND do some small act of service for someone? Or do we try to fill that sugarvoid by shouting at our kids and/or coworkers?
If giving up coffee means that we are too foggy to spend time in morning prayer, perhaps we need to add getting to bed early to our Lenten disciplines. Or maybe now would be the time to try substituting caffeinated tea, instead of just going cold turkey. Maybe just cutting it out is the best approach to your Lent this year, maybe that’s what will lead you to God’s holy hill.
But if your voluntary Lenten disciplines are leading you to hell in a handbasket instead, you can do something about it! Praise God with your sacrifices today. If we can’t do that, then we’re not making the right sacrifices.
Where are your voluntary Lenten disciplines taking you today?