Lent Guide: In the Shadow of GethsemaneSample

...deny

A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

- Luke 22:56-57

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34). Almost instinctively we want to withdraw from these words. We are much more comfortable with words like “self-fulfillment” and “self-actualisation” than “denial of self”. For example, Jesus prayed for Peter’s soul before Peter betrayed him. Strangely enough, Jesus didn’t pray that Peter wouldn’t betray Him. Instead, Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith wouldn’t fail him (Luke 22:23). As a good teacher, Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to make mistakes and prayed that Peter would develop a lasting, persevering faith, regardless of, in the middle of, even despite his mistake. But if we can admit to our mistakes freely and choose to rely on the adequacy of God, our faith will grow and we will be able to strengthen others.

The vehement affirmations of Peter and the other disciples that they wouldn’t desert Christ, are exceptional examples of how this works, but the everyday movements of life continuously confirm that this type of failure not only pertains to “religious” things. It permeates every part of human existence. We often live in denial and that prevents us from experiencing the best part of God’s kingdom. Denial is a big part of what hampers spiritual formation in Christ. In denial, we refuse to acknowledge those aspects of our lives of which we are vaguely aware or even know that it’s true, but we’re not prepared to admit it openly or take steps to change it. Because of this, those things continue to control our behavior and it shapes our thoughts and emotions. The further result of denial is that what we say we believe, isn’t confirmed in our lives.

Exercise

• Think back to a recent conversation… Ask God to make you aware of your denial and to help you to admit that you need Him in everything.
• Only you know the biggest denials in your life and what effect it has on your life.

Prayer: I ask for a deep consciousness of Your love and work in my life.