Lent 2024 | Day 24

By Janet Nygren
Day 24 (Tuesday, Mar 12)
 
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-center my scattered senses upon the presence of God.¹

Pause and pray.

“Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

Think about it.

As we think about comfort, it is important to recognize that your heavenly Father knows what you need. His character is not such that if you ask for a fish he will give you a snake (Luke 11:11). He promises to take care of his children. So as we think about steps of dying to comfort for the sake of love, the first step is recognizing that God’s got us. To dwell with God is a privilege that actually is comfortable! He ensures our refuge, our inheritance in his kingdom, our abundance. Before Jesus descended, he came from heaven where he wanted for nothing.

Consider.

If we live out of a place of deprivation, our natural tendency is to strive after what benefits ourselves, not the kingdom of God. Paradoxically, God tells us that when we seek his kingdom first, we will gain back the very things we lose and more. We don’t have to worry about being “safe” because God’s taking care of that. We are freed up to look beyond ourselves. As Paul Miller puts it, when we look at Jesus, his life breaks the grip on our imagination to consider the wonder of love.² How does your desire for comfort freeze you into inaction on behalf of others?

Pause and pray.

Jesus, help my love for you grow more and more.

“I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs…so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.” (Isaiah 41:18, 20)

Notes
1. Prayer used daily in Lectio365 found at https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/
2.  Paul E. Miller, J-Curve (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 157.