Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Read: Isaiah 38:9-20 Ash Wednesday:
A Lesson from the Loom
Like a weaver, I’ve rolled up the carpet of my life
as God cuts me free of the loom.
(Isaiah 38:12, Message)
I remember talking with a friend after he recovered from COVID during the early stages of the pandemic. At the time, he felt like Hezekiah, that the cloth of his life was complete and being rolled up. He thought God, the Master Weaver, was cutting him from the loom of earthly life.
Finding himself on the brink of death, my friend grappled with whether he had all his affairs in order. He turned to God, acknowledging both his vulnerability and the sovereignty of the Divine. Fortunately, my friend recovered, and the experience transformed his life. It brought home the reality of how transient life here can be. Each passing day became one in which he invites God to renew him and use him according to God’s purpose and will. Each day became one he opens with thanksgiving for that new day that the Lord has made and prays to rejoice and be glad in it.
Let us approach Ash Wednesday and this Lenten season letting God take our sufferings and failures and weave them anew into a transformed life that is a better likeness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Be still and Reflect: When has a trying time of desperation and vulnerability driven you to seek God most earnestly and offered increased spiritual vitality? How will you deliberately make the most of today and this Lenten season to draw closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
Pray: Father God, I am reminded of the brevity of life and the inevitability of death. Help me to live each day in the light of eternity, seeking Your mercy and living my life in a way that honors You. Give me the strength to face the challenges of life, to be transformed like Christ in them, and the wisdom to seek Your will in all things. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria