Lent Devotional March 4, 2024

Lenten Devotional March 4, 2024

Scripture

Psalm 119:73-80

73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right,
and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
76 Let your steadfast love become my comfort
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.

Devotion

The Rev. B.T. Gilligan ’11

Today is my birthday! I’ve made another trip around the sun, which has been a long, strange trip. I have made a lot of memories this year, and I hope to make many more memories. I still have hopes, dreams, and goals to accomplish as I continue this wonderful life.

As I reflect on the previous year and look forward to the next year, I find some comfort and hope in today’s reading. I long to learn more about Christ and what Christ would want me to do in the future. I know that some memories I make may not be the greatest, but I hope that my comfort can be found in the love of God towards me. I still long for the mercy of God and to find even more delight in God’s precepts. I know I’m not there yet; some days are better than others, but I’m not where I used to be. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I may not be the man I want to be; I may not be the man I ought to be; I may not be the man I could be; I may not be the man I truly can be; but praise God, I’m not the man I once was.” There is much to work on, but I see God at work.

You may be in the same place. You find the years passing, and everything changes, yet the desire is still the same: to fully live into this Scripture and fully immerse ourselves in all that God has for us. If that’s the case, may you find comfort and hope in today’s Scripture and know that you aren’t there yet but aren’t where you were either.

Prayer

Almighty God, you mold and shape my life daily. Please keep making me into your image. Show me your life, help me to delight in you, and guide me ever closer to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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