Scripture
Psalm 25:1-11
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, in you I trust;

let me not be put to shame;

let not my enemies exult over me.

3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.

5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Prayer

God of my salvation lift up my soul. I am brought low by the enemies without and the enemy within. Expectations missed and negative self talk lead me to doubt your steadfast love. Let me praise you for your faithfulness; let me dance in your pardon. Amen

Meditation

I understand that if you are going to adventure in the wild there are things called “trail maps” that give you guidance on your nature walks. I say that I understand this because I am more of an urban explorer. The Google Maps “explore what is near me” button that directs me to some hidden, local-only restaurant is my speed.

The Lord has a path for us. He is our salvation and He has the trail map for us to discover His goodness and mercy. We can call on Him to recall His steadfast love toward us and in doing so remember it for ourselves. We are the ones who are most adept at remembering our failings. We are crushed by our failings.

Many of my friends are in recovery and for many of them the hardest part is to forgive themselves. They might fear that in forgiving themselves they give permission for the bad behavior and might fall again. They might believe the damage done is to great and should not be forgiven. I can fall into this path and it is easy to explore it.

The path of the Lord, the one we want to discover and have Him reveal, is steadfast love and faithfulness. And it doesn’t rest on anything from us but solely on His goodness.

Action:

It is good during Lent to recognize our fallenness and our sin, but do not allow yourself to miss that we are on the other side of the cross and resurrection. God’s goodness is revealed in our living lives of celebration. Find a way to celebrate God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to you today.