Day 13 – March 19
What emotion do you want to feel as you 'give up' or 'fast' from something for Lent?
The next sentence might sound a bit strange for the opening thought of a devotional.
Our brains work hard to ensure we are right. Neuroscience aside (but feel free to look this brain function up), would you consider giving your brain something good to be right about?
So, what do you want to be ‘right’ about? What feeling or feelings would bring blessing and energy to you this season of Lent?
I instinctively think I’m right about some of my following thoughts and beliefs: fasting is hard, I’ll be unhappy if I give something up, God won’t meet me as I fast even though He meets others, or nothing will change if I fast. I want to remind us that human feelings and thoughts are welcome in our walk with Jesus. Jesus was human, like us in every way. Let me repeat that, He was like us in every way. We often remember the truth about Jesus being without sin, but we brush over the truth that Jesus was fully human – with emotions. It is healthy for us to feel the gamut of emotions linked to our thoughts and beliefs. But it is also healthy to ask for and anticipate the good things we want!
Let’s consider the following for a moment.
Imagine the feelings you would like to experience as you fast and pray. Bring these feelings to mind from other times you’ve experienced them. Now that you’ve named them, how will you remember these are the feeling you hope for? Could you pencil them into your day timer, lipstick them on your mirror, something else? God will hear you even as you speak to your own brain. If God wants to suggest more resourceful emotions to you, He will. And we can trust God to walk alongside us, being with us in whatever emotion rises from the roller coaster that can come with fasting. He wants good things for us. He gives good gifts to us.
If you need help identifying feeling or emotions, Google or ChatGPT a list of feelings.
As I connect with God this Lent, I want to feel joy, wonder, deep gratitude, and increasing peace and freedom, including freedom to be vulnerable and to grieve.
May God make these things so.
Day 14 - March 20
What might you be afraid of happening or feeling as you fast and pray over Lent?
