Today’s Lent Devotional for Women is going to lead us into considering being a hero. No, this isn’t a “How to Save a (Fill in the Blank) From a (Fill in Another Blank)” kind of hero training. This is a “How to Heroically Love When You Don’t Feel Very Lovey” kind of message. And that my friends, is how you throw down some hard truth right up front!
One of my favorite, long-time Lent devotionals is Reflections on the Passion. I acquired this book years ago when our pastor was giving away some books before he was reassigned to another state and I choose this little, hardback book from the pile. It was marked .25¢ so I didn’t feel too confident in its contents or too bad in taking a book. Boy! Was I wrong about the content!!
I love this book so much our Online Bible Study Community has read through it together each morning on Facebook Live during Lent for a couple of years.
This book is pure gold I tell you! And today’s reading may just be one of my favorites–although I say that about most of the days.
“…when God seems most deaf to our pleadings in prayer, He may prefer to make heroes of us. Be assured that in time of temptation and trial, God’s angels will ever be at our side to comfort, encourage, and succor us.”
–Fr. Charles Hugo Doyle
Some days, I don’t really care to be a hero. I want to lie on the couch watching the Price is Right eating Pringles. I know, I just gave you a peek into my immature, feeling-based, whiny-baby faith. It’s ok, I’m not ashamed to share how God tries to use me, as imperfect as I am.
Lent Devotional for Women: It’s Not About Us
Sometimes though we need to take a step back and realize our faith is small and weak and lazy and covered in crushed-up potato chips because we’re making it about ourselves and it’s not all about us…it’s all about Him.
The Scriptures tell us, “God is love.” So if everything is about God, everything is about love.
We aren’t practicing loving better or more this Lent because we want to show how lovey we really are…at least I hope not. We’re working our way through this Lent Devotional for Women because we’re trying to love more and better because we want to show how loving and awesome God is!
We’ve already established, we want to be more like God and friends, God loves BIG…ALL the time!
By the way, I can assure you, nowhere in the Bible does it mention God chillin’ on the couch ignoring our prayers because the next contestant just might win win a new car. So when we’re tempted to think God is ignoring us, taking a break from His busy schedule, or taking a mental health day because–well, this crazy world–we need to kick that thought to the curb…do the cool kids still say that?
We need to immediately get rid of the thought that God sometimes ignores us! That comes straight from hell and is only meant to kill, steal and destroy our faith in God and in our prayers!
So considering our Lent of love and considering our time of prayer, if we don’t love, ourselves and others, the enemy has us exactly where he wants us! I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be where the enemy wants me! I want to be at odds with him, not under his control.
Listen! If we’re not praying, conversing, and learning from God, the enemy again has us exactly where he wants us. If we’re not striving for closer friendship with Jesus, if we’re not trying to grow in love for Jesus, ourselves, and others…the enemy has us exactly where he wants us.
When we start thinking God isn’t listening to us, what’s the very next conclusion we come to? “He must not love me.” We think if God loved us more, this or that would happen, or we would be like this or we would have that. And suddenly, we are in one big, tangled, pity party, no one loves me–not even God, mess!
Enemy-1 Us-0.
All he has to do is keep us there and he wins. And what an easy win! It’s not like he had to go all Job on us and take all our children and livestock and cover us with nasty sores. He just had to convince us, God wasn’t paying attention to us because He doesn’t love us.
Here’s the plan in this Lent Devotional for Women–we are going to come out of this Lent knowing that God’s love for us and our faith in Him is not based on feelings, at all. “Yeah, but…”
So how do we imitate God’s BIG love? We love. We love regardless of how we feel.
We don’t love only when…
We don’t love just because…
We don’t love if only…
We love. Period.
An old prayer to pray for ourselves as we journey through this Lent Devotional for Women, “Enlighten our minds we beseech Thee, O Lord, with the light of Thy brightness: that we may be able to see what we ought to do and have the strength to do what is right.”
We know what we ought to do right? We ought to love. So let’s pray especially for the strength to love.
The strength to love when we’re tired…moody…hungry…stressed…offended…and just plain put out. You know and I know, God will surely answer that prayer. The pray asking Him to give us the strength to love…the prayer asking Him to give us the strength to love BIG just like Him.
Click here for all the Lent Devotional for Women posts
Essential Oil Notes:
I will NEVER not have Thieves in my home! This oil is amazing and I’m not even exaggerating. I diffuse it when we’re feeling icky, or even just to clear the air. I use it in a Cold Bomb roller on the soles of our feet and up our spine when we’re sick, I use it straight out of the bottle on the soles of our feet when we’re sick! You can add a drop to make a yummy, immune-boosting tea, etc, etc, etc!!!
Debbi says
Sending love to you today, Jenny!
Christi says
Ha ha, I love that Amazon offered me Pringles in the “shop for related products” box!!
Jenny says
Good ‘ol Amazon!
Millie says
Thank you! I want to read bible but didn’t know where to start and to learn to pray! Not to just memorize prayers! Keep encouraging and I’ll keep lifting you in prayer.
Millie
PS. Have you started 2016 challenge?
Jenny says
Thanks Millie.. By the way, have you ever seen “7 Brides for 7 Brothers?” IT’s one of our favorites and the lead actress is named Millie. Anyway…2016 Bible in a Year Challenge? If that’s the one you’re talking about…yes…and I’m already behind!
Millie says
Thanks again! I’m on 2nd day of Revival at home parish and I’m feeling half filled….Are you going to post a new or different Bible challenge for 2016.? I’m in need of more.
Be Blessed,
Millie
Michelle says
When I grow up, I want to have a blog just like yours. It’s healing, encouraging truth, along with an element of humor. It really is a quiet place amidst all the cyber noise.
I don’t believe the so called cool kids say that anymore, by by golly they should! And when one of those kids try to get on the computer when you get up for a minute, you might say, “Hey, you jumped in my grave!”
Jenny says
Hahaha! So glad I have friends to keep me in the loop!
Thank you Michelle. You encourage me.
Rebecca says
I wouldn’t consider this post as late since it came across for me to read at the perfect time!!
Jenny says
Yay for God’s perfect timing!