Day One - Waiting for What

(submitted by Dan Gildner)

Key Text: Psalm 27:13-14

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

THOUGHTS

It's the beginning. The first day. The party has begun. The countdown has started...but for what? Whenever I think of Lent, I think of sacrifice (all those years of giving up chocolate which honestly wasn't much of a sacrifice for me, gummy bears on the other hand would have been torture). I think of a journey too. The journey of Christ toward his eventual death.

But I also can't help to look past some of the darkness of lent in order to see the Resurrection which culminates the journey. It is the final party and to me, it is what gives this journey of sacrifice its proper motivation. The disciples were constantly asking, "When Jesus?", wondering when the power of God would trump the power of men, waiting for the day when their faithfulness to Him would prove fruitful. And then He rose.

Could it be that the promise for our journeys (uphill and downhill) is not something but instead someOne?

These verses remind me that when I lay my life down for the sake of God's Kingdom and for the sake of others, that my groaning for something better really needs to lead me to a yearning for my Savior God. A more beautiful, intimate relationship with the Almighty God is on the other side of the journey, past the rolled stone and way worth any sacrifice that I may give.

REFLECTION:

-Can I lay aside the "things" I want from God for the simple pleasure of knowing God better?

-How can I begin this journey toward Jesus in a way that reflects my sincere desire to know more of my Creator? Are there actions I need to take on? Are there thoughts I need to let go of? Are there expectations of God that have blinded me from seeing the true promise?