“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 4: 1-3)
Lent is a season of reflection and repentance. It’s taking time to deliberately pause and notice how far and how often we stray from God’s good intention for our lives. But we find how gracious and how close God is when we return. So we come, not in shame, but in hopeful anticipation of His grace.
Do you find yourself distant from God? When was the last time you were honest with God?
Week 2 | Being Honest before God
Jessica Lee
March 14, 2022
Week 6 | A Time For Everything
April 11, 2022
A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap, A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace. In this past season of Lent, we’ve been talking about how to return back to God. And while there are many good disciplines and practices we can participate in, there are some seasons of our life where it’s simply just enough to recognize that God is there, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Even if the situation hasn’t changed or we don’t see evidence of God’s goodness. Sometimes, returning to God just looks like standing still long enough to recognize our own grief. And sometimes, we can stand still long enough for Spring to come.
Week 5 | In These Wordless Seasons
April 4, 2022
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 What do we do in seasons that are so painful and heavy, that it’s wordless? The valleys in our lives when we are wrapped with grief and we have no strength to muster. This week, Heidi Min shares with us a candid and vulnerable snapshot on what she does in seasons when she finds herself without words and without strength. How do we bring ourselves before God, if that’s the last thing we want to do?
Week 4 | To the One Who Anticipates Us
March 28, 2022
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. (Lamentations 3) Our return, our love, is not with should be’s, want-to-be’s, or have-to-be’s. But it is simply “to be”. Because our return is based on who God is.