When we kicked off Lent, we were reminded that this season was and is for joy. Hebrews 12:1-2, reads “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.”
Jesus took on the crushing weight of humanity’s shame and sin, all for the joy of reconciling us, restoring creation, and bringing glory to the Father.
It was joy that motivated him to accomplish God’s will.
As we enter the final week Lent, we are going to practice letting go of the things that keep us comfortable and complacent. Because as we learn to forgo comfort and convenience, we actually begin to live out the joy of doing God’s will.
It isn’t that comfort is the enemy nor convenience something to be ashamed of. In fact comfort is good and necessary in many seasons of our lives. Jesus actually promises to comfort us with the Holy Spirit. But our choices and the way we build our lives cannot be built for the purpose of comfort – or with convenience as our King.
As Christ followers, we declare that Jesus is our King, we and that we are made to be a blessing to His world. But comfort – again which isn’t bad – often gets in the way of living a life submitted to God and His purposes. So we have to ask ourselves, do the patterns of our lives say that we live for comfort and convenience? Or do the choices that we make inform the world that Jesus is our King, and that we want to partake in what He is doing in the here and now.
Learning to forgo comfort and convenience is not about self-sacrifice, just as fasting isn’t about self-denial. It’s about posturing our lives as an act of surrender to God, and saying to Him again that HE can use all that we are and all that we have for His glory. Because there is far more joy in knowing WHO He is and being a part in what He is doing.
We see the heart of God moving through the example of Christ.
We see our Savior who allowed Himself to be inconvenienced by people and children – often the very people who the society at the time deemed as unworthy and burdensome. When He’s in a crowded place and the bleeding woman touches Him. He stops amid the commotion and turns to her. He honors and dignifies her. When He’s teaching, He stops the disciples from dismissing the children and instead welcomes them near. Of all people, Jesus had places to go and people to see, but He always allowed Himself to be interrupted by the least of these. No one was ever too inconvenient or unworthy of His time.
We see our King stopping often to be present with the people God so loved.
Meditate over excerpts from Psalm 16:
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
You make known to me the path of life
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
How do we know that our eyes are always on the Lord and that we have placed God at the center? We can be inconvenienced by Him and we find joy in living out His will in our lives.
Like the boy in the gospels who willingly brings Jesus his five loaves and two fish, we bring him what we have and who we are, and trust that He’s going to use whatever small gifts that we bring to be a blessing.
We are learning to have a loose grip on comforts, and this allows God to amplify what we have for His glory. And in this, we find ultimate joy and satisfaction in being who we’ve been made to be: a blessing to our world. And isn’t this the beautiful thing about our King? He doesn’t need us, but He still desires for us to participate in what He’s doing.
So what are your five loaves and two fish? What can God can ask of you to lay down or sacrifice? Is it your time? Your presence? Your finances? This week, let’s bring these to God and allow Him to use it for His glory.
Maybe it’s staying a bit later to listen to your coworker talk about what’s burdening their heart. Maybe it looks like buying the person’s groceries behind you. Maybe it’s spending an hour intentionally being present with your child even when you’re tired, or getting up a little earlier to spend time with God and intercede for those in your life.
Whatever we are doing, wherever we are, we want to become sensitive to God’s tug, so we can respond and participate in what He’s doing in the mundane, in the every day, in the seemingly small and inconsequential ways.
Pray this with us this week:
You are the King of my heart, and I give you permission to use whatever I have and all that I am for Your glory. Amen.
And parents, a prayer of blessing over your child:
Son or daughter, may you learn the joy that comes when we serve our king with all of our heart.