A new heart
Lent. We are approaching the end of the season of Lent. If we have been true to the season, then we have ventured deep within our souls, into places we don’t ever want to see the light of day. And yet, that is exactly what Lent is all about — exposing our failings to the light of God.
In the darkness, our sins feel safe. No one else knows about the secret things that plague our hearts. We keep them wrapped up, away from our everyday locus. But those hidden aspects of our lives are exactly the things that are holding us back from a deeper relationship with God. We find ourselves trapped in their webs of deceit and we feel so ashamed that we hide them away from others.
Lent is a most trying time. Somehow, we must find the courage not only to expose our failings but also to put our faith and lives into someone greater than ourselves. That is the most difficult thing of all, especially in this time, when the greatest disease is loneliness. It’s hard to live by the old adage “Let go and let God.” When we live behind so many facades, how do we find the courage to break free and reach out? When our world is so immediate, how do we put our faith in someone outside our prevue?
We are living in a post-faith world. People today refer to themselves as spiritual beings, not religious beings.
As a spiritual being, how does one maintain the spirit? Our secularism has long ago overtaken the religious side of life. And when trials do come, where do we go to find solace? Where can our spirits feel renewal? Life is tough, even if you believe in an entity greater than yourself.
In Psalm 51, we hear a cry from the depths of someone’s soul. They are rock bottom in their lives. They cry out for mercy, for forgiveness. They confess the evil they have done. They want something more than what they are experiencing. The evil they have done is only emptying their lives, not fulfilling it. There is nothing left to them. They feel crushed and alone. They remember other times and want to recover the sounds of joy and gladness in their lives, again. They know that only God can forgive them of their secret sins. Only God can blot out their darkness, but it means opening themselves up to God’s ways.
If we find ourselves in the same place, where do we go to find solace and new life? We journey into our darkness and bring our sins out into the light of God’s love. Evil cannot stand in the presence of God, for it is only God who can defeat evil. That’s the reality we call Easter.
The Psalmist knows that he needs a change of heart. He must trust in God if he is to find new life. He cries out, “Put a clean heart in me, O God. Restore in me the joy of your salvation.”
That’s what the journey of Lent is all about. It is during this journey where we discover that all God requires of us is a broken and yearning heart for something new and different.
If you are feeling weighed down by your world, seek out a church close by and journey with people, like yourself, who are looking for a new heart. Trust in God and God will never disappoint you. God bless you all.