Burning in My Heart
I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. -Job 42:6b
Today we begin a purposeful journey to the cross. We pray that we will receive everything God intends with the gift of his Son, Jesus. Without him, we are paupers unnecessarily. We can't give ourselves a pep talk worthy of the journey we need to make. We must come before God and humbly acknowledge that we are emptier than we want to be and weaker than we should be. We need a fresh coal of fire in our hearts that begins to blaze for what God wants to do in us, through us, and for us. We want to burn with a desire to grow in Christ.
Fire is merciless. When fire burns something, nothing is left but ashes. Perhaps that is why the first Wednesday of this forty-day journey to the cross begins with an object lesson involving ashes.
Whatever God says does not belong in our hearts must burn away to leave only ashes. Additionally, ashes also remind us of how temporary our lives are.
Many attend an Ash Wednesday service where the pastor makes a cross with ashes on the foreheads of those who gather. The metaphor has its roots in the Old Testament, where ashes were sprinkled on the heads of people who mourned a predicament only God could solve. The ashes represented their helplessness.
This humbling is necessary. Until we admit we are not self-made, we cannot stand before the cross to receive what God says we need. Humbling ourselves is the gutting of every excuse and rationalization. It is the detoxification of what our culture pushes on us. We need this slow, soulful journey to the cross because our hearts carry weights and chaos that God never intended us to experience. We remember who we are and who we are not.
We bring our unedited selves to God so he can burn away what does not need to stay. When God does his work, a new burning begins in our hearts, and we wait, humbled and ready to listen.
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. What must burn away so that God has complete access to my goals, motives, and actions?
2. Where does God want me to use his power?
3. What commitment will help me make the most of this devotional journey?
AFFIRMATION
I was created for life with God.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Eternal God, burn away what does not help me see you hear you or obey you.
I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. -Job 42:6b
Today we begin a purposeful journey to the cross. We pray that we will receive everything God intends with the gift of his Son, Jesus. Without him, we are paupers unnecessarily. We can't give ourselves a pep talk worthy of the journey we need to make. We must come before God and humbly acknowledge that we are emptier than we want to be and weaker than we should be. We need a fresh coal of fire in our hearts that begins to blaze for what God wants to do in us, through us, and for us. We want to burn with a desire to grow in Christ.
Fire is merciless. When fire burns something, nothing is left but ashes. Perhaps that is why the first Wednesday of this forty-day journey to the cross begins with an object lesson involving ashes.
Whatever God says does not belong in our hearts must burn away to leave only ashes. Additionally, ashes also remind us of how temporary our lives are.
Many attend an Ash Wednesday service where the pastor makes a cross with ashes on the foreheads of those who gather. The metaphor has its roots in the Old Testament, where ashes were sprinkled on the heads of people who mourned a predicament only God could solve. The ashes represented their helplessness.
This humbling is necessary. Until we admit we are not self-made, we cannot stand before the cross to receive what God says we need. Humbling ourselves is the gutting of every excuse and rationalization. It is the detoxification of what our culture pushes on us. We need this slow, soulful journey to the cross because our hearts carry weights and chaos that God never intended us to experience. We remember who we are and who we are not.
We bring our unedited selves to God so he can burn away what does not need to stay. When God does his work, a new burning begins in our hearts, and we wait, humbled and ready to listen.
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. What must burn away so that God has complete access to my goals, motives, and actions?
2. Where does God want me to use his power?
3. What commitment will help me make the most of this devotional journey?
AFFIRMATION
I was created for life with God.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Eternal God, burn away what does not help me see you hear you or obey you.
Posted in Lent