Lenten Devotional – April 7, 2023

Friday, April 7, 2023
Good Friday
Devotional by Pastor Carrie Baylis

Throughout Lent I’ve been leading the Sunday morning adult forum using another book by Shauna Niequest titled Present over Perfect.  I’ve learned a lot about the busyness and the hustle that so easily take over life when we’re always seeking more and saying yes to all the things.  The question that comes with that is why do we do it and what are we seeking?  Are we looking for affirmation or needing to be needed?  She invites us into the understanding that for every ‘”yes” we have, it also comes with a “no”.  What are you saying yes to in your life that is creating a “no” to the truly important things in your life?  When we say yes to meeting (our perception) of the needs of others, how might we be denying our own needs or those of the people most important to us?

How might our lives look different if we lived a quieter being that allowed us to say yes to the things we were most gifted to do and brought us closer to God?  In this book Shauna invites us to read Job 37: 2-13 and to listen to how God calls us to live a life of purpose as he intended for us.  I’m especially fond of verses 4-7: 
“ When his voice resounds,
    he holds nothing back.
 God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
    he does great things beyond our understanding.
He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
    and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
So that everyone he has made may know his work,
    he stops all people from their labor.”

I love how these verses note that God has assigned creation to singular tasks so that our only obligation is to say yes to what God has created us to do, and then to rest in his work.  The only job of the snow is to fall on the earth, the only job of the rain is to be a mighty downpour and when we can understand and identify our singular task or purpose, we can say “yes” and then rest in his creation.

Prayer: God of all creation, you invite us to say yes to you and no to the chaos that pulls us from all that matters.  Let us be open to your calling, calm in the midst of the hustle, and brave enough to say yes to you and no to the things that are not ours to do.  Amen.