“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield. Our heart is glad in him because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.– Psalm 33:20-22
People of Hope,
The season of Lent is now officially upon us. We’ve been blessed to journey through the first (almost) 2 months of the year, but if you’re like me, it feels a little more like we’ve survived the first two months rather than thrived. It seems every few days there’s another reason to be anxious or angry about the state of our world, regardless of your personal political leanings or source of information. Frankly, there are some days where I’d rather just hide under the covers than deal with another day in our current information cycle. And yet, there are things to do, ministries to encourage and support, and people who crave connection that happens most readily through the body of Christ. Very few of us actually have the ability to hide from the pressures of the world.
And yet, in the midst of so many reasons to be discouraged in our world, Jesus, the light of the world, journeys with us throughout this Lenten season with a different goal in mind than doubt and frustration. Jesus’ intent for us is for us to receive light and life, not despair and worry. It’s for this reason that we’re inviting you to Lean into Hope this year for Lent. Lent isn’t just about penitence and self-denial; Lent is about finding ways to encounter God in the world more deeply than we might have first experienced the Lord. So as we journey together each Wednesday this Lenten season, we’re going to encounter God’s grace and power through words and stories of hope found in scripture.
As we dwell in these themes of hope, I invite you to ponder – how is it that God is calling you to lean into hope – for yourself or perhaps for a neighbor who needs a little more hope in their lives? How might we see God’s goodness and grace show up in a world that sometimes seems to lack those things? Yes, the world can be discouraging. But we belong to a God who brings good news to the lost and afflicted. This doesn’t mean that the challenging aspects of our world aren’t happening. This doesn’t mean that we can simply wish away the negative. But what this means is that even when things are dim, we know we belong to a God who claims us and loves us no matter the state of the world. Our God has the final word on salvation, and we know through the promises of God that we belong to the Lord, and no powers of the world can separate us from God’s love.
So this Lenten season, join us in leaning into hope. God is at work in this world still May we all seek to encounter God in the work, being good news for the poor, and hope for the hopeless again this Lenten season.