A note about Lent
Yesterday, someone grilled me about why I was observing Lent. The argument went something like:

“Lent is a non-biblical, man-made ritual. Why are you making an effort to do these things that you should be doing all year? You should focus on that rather than observing Lent.”

Yes, Lent is not in the Bible. Neither is Christmas or Easter. But why do we observe Christmas and Easter? Because it is a time of focus on Jesus’ birth, or Jesus’ death and resurrection. By observing those dates, we enter into greater worship because of spending time focusing on certain characteristics of our faith, and preparation for a celebration.

Lent is no different. It can be a ritual, for sure. It can be as empty as any other religious event, or it can be a time of preparation for greater worship. And if something results in greater knowledge, understanding, and worship of God, then why would we want to discourage someone from doing it? The key is relationship, and for me, this experiment in observing Lent will have a great impact on my relationship with God.

Refuge, Shelter, and Deliverance
Speaking of relationship (I love segues), I am loving reading and praying through the Psalms. The way David cries out to God is such a beautiful picture of an authentic relationship. I don’t often think of God as a refuge or shelter, mostly He’s picked out a path, given me some commands, and I follow it. This morning I prayed that I would take refuge in God and sing for joy in His shelter.

There’s this beautiful picture at the end of Psalm 5 of God’s blessing and favor being like a shield around His righteous ones. The image I see is God standing above someone and sweeping His arm around them, creating this whirlwind of protection. It’s not a superficial protection like nothing bad will ever happen, but it’s a protection of eternal significance, that He is allowing things to happen or not happen in order to accomplish His will and ultimately shape us into who He wants us to be. And there is no better place to be than that.