The Joy of Glory

Each day of the Lenten season, I will be emailing out a devotional to many of the members of SVCC. I will also be sharing these devos via www.thejoyofglory.com

These are designed to accompany the SVCC Lenten reading guide which may be found here: 2018 Lenten Reading Guide

In these devotionals I will give a link that will take you to the entire reading for the day if you would like to read it. I will actually include a few of the verses upon which I will focus my reflections. In the reflection section I will make a few brief comments which I hope will spur your own thinking and prayers.

Lent is meant to be a season of repentance and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting reminds us that we are not in need of the things this world offers, but in desperate need of Jesus. So, the point of Lent is that we need Jesus…we need Easter. It is my prayer that these daily devotionals will simply help remind us of our daily need for Christ.

Exodus 15 11-18 (click here)
“Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”

“You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The LORD will reign forever and ever.” (Exodus 15:11-13 and 17-18)

Reflection
Do you journal?

I’m not asking if you are a faithful journaler, chronicling your everyday existence. I wish I was that consistent, but I do make occasional attempts at recording particular events. I have found journaling to be particularly helpful when the Lord has worked in my life in a way that cannot be denied. This practice has proven to be beneficial because I am such a forgetful creature.

We are forgetful creatures.

God will work in my life in some amazing way, but within a matter of weeks or days (or even shorter) I find myself living as if he had never acted at all. Is this not a reality repeated to us throughout the story of the Exodus? God saved his people out of the land of Egypt to lead them to a land he had promised them as a home. Yet, along the difficult journey they constantly forgot the deeds of the Lord.

This is why Scripture constantly calls God’s people to remember what he has done! In Exodus 15, God’s people are directed towards his glorious deeds he performed in redeeming them and guiding them. This looking back is meant to stir up faith amidst their difficult journey so that they may have confidence concerning the future they have been promised… that God himself will plant them in the land he promised them. They will dwell there in the presence of the Lord as he reigns forever.

When I find myself amidst life’s most difficult days, it is helpful to flip back in my journal and read my own words about God’s past faithfulness. It’s as if “past me” is preaching to “present me” to trust that the Lord is faithful and will bring me all the way home to enjoy his presence forever! The past deeds of the Lord stir up my faith in the present and gives me confidence concerning the future.

In what ways has God been faithful to you in the past? Perhaps you should write it down. Do a bit of journaling so that when the days are dark you can remind yourself that God has been faithful and will be faithful forever.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.