2017 Belmont University Lenten Devotional GuideSample

A week before Good Friday, we are reminded of Jesus’ command to take up our cross and follow Him. We are reminded that the call to discipleship is not easy or enviable. It is a path on which we flee from the slander of our enemies, feel the burden of our iniquities and wait for that which is to come. It is a lowly path, the road less traveled, the one which reveals our broken state. This was the path of Christ and the journey to which we are called.

David, Job and Paul experience the hardships of this path and cry out to God to deliver them. They had every reason to doubt God’s faithfulness when they lingered at death’s door. They had their possessions stripped away, their health deteriorate and society persecute them. But even through this, they did not turn bitter. They expressed their anguish to the Lord, who they knew was listening. They recalled how He had been faithful in the past and each passage ends with a profound sense of hope, one that did not doubt the goodness of God.
As I look at these men of God, I am constantly in awe of their conviction of faith. Their laments are not complaints, but authentic expressions of their suffering to the Judge of heaven and earth. They know that what they experienced on earth pales in comparison to the Glory of God. I am reminded that hardships are not the absence of God’s love, but vehicles that show us how deep His love is. God does not always prevent the storm but provides the shelter that will get us through.

Almighty God,
We thank You for Your faithfulness to us. We cry out to You, knowing You will hear our petitions and act on them in accordance to Your will. We recognize that the path You have called us to is not an easy one nor one that is exempt from suffering. Lead and guide us, comfort us with your everlasting love. Make Your face shine upon Your servants, save us for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

SEAN GROSSNICKLE
Sophomore
International Business Major