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Psalm 121:1-2: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 121 is a Psalm of Ascent. These are psalms that the Israelites sang during their journeys to Jerusalem. The hills represent the unknown. As they journeyed, who knew what was upon the hills – wild animals, bandits, etc.?

As Christians, we are all on a journey to our true home. There are many hills in our lives, plenty of unknown. How do we deal with our fear? The psalmist looks to the Lord and recognizes that he alone is the source of help. He recalls that the Lord is the one who made heaven and earth; this is a recognition that all power over heaven and earth is in his hands.

As we journey through this season of Lent, we have the opportunity to allow God to lead us in the transformation of our lives. Part of that transformation comes in considering where we place our trust. There will be plenty of unknown in this world. The Lord, as the one who made the heaven and earth, has all power to meet us in each and every challenge, each and every unknown.

Can we, like the psalmist, cry out to God to provide all the help we need to journey well?

Genesis 12:1-4 : “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.”

The Lord told Abram to leave his home, all that he had known and all the security he may have enjoyed upon the earth. Abram was to go to the land which the Lord would show him — no map, no well-defined plan, no security.

Despite the ambiguity, the text tells us that Abram obeyed. He went.

How do you respond to the direction of the Lord? Are you one to lay out all your concerns and questions and use them as an excuse not to obey the Lord? Or, do you follow the example of Abram, and follow the Lord’s guidance even when you don’t know the way, just the waymaker?

Father, give us the faith of Abram to go where you send us, to do what you have called us to do so that you may be seen and glorified in our lives.

Matthew 4:1-3: “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered him, ‘It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Fasting was used in the Old Testament as a means of focusing intently on prayer. Jesus, as the Son of God, took time to focus on prayer and to deny his fleshly appetites. After the 40 days, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus was famished. His flesh was weak. It was in that weakness, that the tempter came to him. Think about the temptation here – “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Satan was questioning Jesus’ identity, asking him to prove himself while he was also appealing to Jesus’ fleshly need for food.

Jesus, though experiencing the same kind of temptation that we face, stood his ground with Satan through the Holy Spirit. He answered Satan by quoting Scripture, and Jesus was triumphant over the enemy.

We, too, can overcome the many temptations of Satan through the power of the Holy Spirit. The temptations will come, especially when you are trying to carve out intentional time to grow in your faith. This Lenten season, you may be fasting from something. There is great value in that fasting! Just like Jesus, we can use the fasting to be more intentional in prayer and to overcome the desires of the flesh.

When the temptations come, be prepared to respond with Scripture. Have a Lenten verse memorized and ready to speak out as needed.

Jesus came out of these 40 days and began his public ministry. What do you think the Lord wants to do in you and then through you after these 40 days?

Romans 5:15-17: “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

Abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness are ours in Jesus Christ our Lord. One man’s sin brought condemnation and one man’s gift brings justification. Adam gave us death, then Jesus came to give us life, and not only life but abundant life.

While Lent is a somber time to think of Christ’s journey to the cross and his sufferings on our behalf, it is also a glorious time to rejoice in the hope we have in him. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, we lived in Adam’s sin. Now, because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we live in righteousness.

Are you unwrapping this free gift of righteousness? You have been freed from all condemnation. Let us use this Lenten season to rejoice and live into this free gift.

Psalm 32:8-9: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.”

The Lord promises to lead us in his ways. Just as an earthly father longs to teach his children, to guide them into maturity and to protect them along the way, so the heavenly Father longs to do the same for us. The God of the universe cares enough to direct our steps.

Just as earthly children often resist the guidance of their fathers, we can resist the guidance of our heavenly Father. In this passage, the Lord warns us not to be like the horse or mule. These can be stubborn animals that naturally resist training. The bit and bridle are used to curb these animals, to keep them close to their owner.

How does the Lord need to curb you? How do you move away from him? Can you take some time today to honestly assess your life to see if there is rebellion to the leading of the Lord?

The heavenly Father loves you more than any earthly father ever could. His guidance will lead you into his abundant life. Will you surrender to his guidance today?

Psalm 32:3-4: “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”

Since Adam and Eve, we have seen that sin makes people want to run and hide from God. We want to cover our sin and pretend that it is not there. God sees. We know what we have done. Denial does more harm than good as the weight of our sin and guilt can feel crushing to us.

Our merciful God offers us another way. His invitation is for us to confess our sins, to ask for forgiveness, and then to receive his grace. His forgiveness restores and heals us.

How do you deal with your sin? Do you run and hide and thus waste away under the burden of your sin, or do you move into the forgiveness of the Lord? No matter what you have done, the Lord is there with open arms ready to receive you, ready to forgive you, ready to heal you.

May we run into his arms of love this Lenten season! Oh God, give us grace to see our sin, the ability to confess it and turn from it, so that we can be set free to glorify you.  

Psalm 32:1-2: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

We are the blessed ones who have their sins forgiven and covered. Jesus’ blood washes us clean so that the Lord can find no iniquity in us. Instead of iniquity, he sees the righteousness of Christ.

God sees us through Jesus – what a gift! Now, we have the calling to live like Jesus. In order to live like Jesus, we have to constantly pray that he would create in us a spirit with no deceit. This is to safeguard ourselves from the deception of the enemy and the sinful desires of our flesh.

The Lenten season is the ideal time to learn to deny our flesh, to ask God to search our hearts and minds for any deceit, and to allow him to work a new purity within us.

Oh Lord, we thank you for the covering of Jesus and his righteousness. Create in us clean hearts and right spirits, spirits without any deceit.