Psalm 51:10-11
Stop.
Take a deep breath. Trace the sign of the cross on your forehead. Center yourself in God’s promise to guide and support you through the gift of the Spirit.
Listen.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. – Psalm 51:10-11
Reflect.
We’re reading Psalm 51 for our devotions this week. We usually hear Psalm 51 during Ash Wednesday services. Ash Wednesday was yesterday, so we’re now officially in the forty days of Lent. Lent gives us space and time to repent, to redirect ourselves, and to be renewed in the work of faith. All this points us towards Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, that powerful story of Jesus going to the cross for our sake and God’s power over death and sin through Jesus’ resurrection.
For many people, a hallmark of Lent is giving something up. This tradition means to lift up the penitence of the season. Some people will actively fast during this time of year, whether from certain kinds of foods or on entire days or parts of days. In this act of sacrifice, believers mean to appreciate what Christ gave up for them.
In Psalm 51, the psalmist asks God to have a newly-created clean heart. Rather than God’s love being removed from his life, the psalmist asks that something new might be created within him. Which makes me wonder: what if we don’t give something up during Lent, but rather, take something up?
If the act of sacrifice and self-denial seems meaningful to you, absolutely, go for it. But it can be just as meaningful to add something to Lent that would help you more meaningfully recognize the ways God is doing something new in your life. How might your faith grow if you gave yourself ten minutes of meditation every day in Lent? Or kept a prayer journal and daily prayed for any requests you heard? Or chose a book of the Bible to read every night? How might these small faith acts put a new and right spirit within you?
It can be meaningful to give something up, especially if that something keeps you from truly knowing God’s love in your life. But just the same, adding something can build a whole new sense of hope and joy in you. Whatever it is you need this Lent, may God reveal it to you.
Pray.
God, you can renew my very self. Let your Spirit guide and surround me. Don’t let me lose my way, but rather, make your Spirit known more powerfully in my life. Amen.
Carry On.
What faith practice will you take on for Lent? Start today! Tell someone about it so you can stay accountable to this commitment.