Show Notes
In this first week of Lent, we enter a season of reflection and discernment on where God is calling us to go next.
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Episode Transcript
The season of Lent invites us to a period of introspection and repentance as we acknowledge our sinfulness and our need for God’s grace. Reformed theology emphasizes the doctrine of total depravity, reminding us of our utter dependence on God alone for salvation. As we embark on this Lenten journey, we humble ourselves before God for our depravity and we seek his forgiveness for that depravity and the transformative power of his spirit.
A reading from Luke chapter 11, verses five to 10.
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Sometimes God uses a season of reflection to set us on a new course. And perhaps this Lent, he’s preparing you for some new place of service, be that in your vocation or in some form of ministry. How can we discern his calling and leading? Typically, it involves some movement on our part. As has been said, it’s easier to redirect a moving ship. That means that we don’t get to sit back and wait until we have all the details we set out, trusting that God will make things clear somewhere along the way, as he did for Abram, as he did for the Magi, as he did when he sent Peter out on the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza. A friend experienced this unfolding when at something of a crossroads in life, he was seeking what he felt was the new place God had for him.Seeing a three-step process in Jesus’ ask, seek, knock, direction, he prayed, asking that God might send him an address to investigate. The next morning, he received an unexpected letter asking him to consider joining an overseas missionary effort. That led to a season of seeking wise counsel from others, whether this was of God and when that was confirmed, then a season of knocking, making all the necessary arrangements. After more than two years, he and his family finally left their home for what became 10 years of missionary service. As you reflect this Lent, might God have something in mind for you? Do you feel a stirring to ask him for a new vision, a prompting to seek out a new opportunity, a nudge to persist in seeing a new situation come to fruition? Sometimes when we have to persevere in prayer, it’s not because God is reluctant, but because He wants to see how serious we are.
Psalm 146 verses 1 through 9.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Lord, I echo the words of the writer of ancient paths as we ask you to give us discernment, to make decisions based on your will and your revelation. Help us make godly choices and keep us from following the wrong path. We trust in you with all of our heart. Let us not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways, we will acknowledge you. We are trusting in you to show us where to walk. We will wait for your guidance. Hear our cry and answer our prayers. We will wait on you. We will keep knocking and keep praying, knowing that you will answer us. Thank you for your unfailing love and mercy. In the name of Jesus, our savior. Amen.
