First Sunday in Lent Devotion

                                                                      First Sunday in Lent – February 21, 2021

‘For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.’ (Psalm 86:13)

LSB 420 – Christ, the Life of All the Living

(Verse 1 of this week’s hymn served as inspiration for today’s devotion.)

One of the scariest movies I had ever seen as a child was the 1954 classic ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon!’  I used to have nightmares just thinking about how a creature like that would lurk in the depths just looking to come out and claim their next victim. My poor mother would always be the one to get up in the middle of the night to calm me down and remind me “now, now…it’s only make-believe, NOW GO TO SLEEP!”

What’s not make-believe is the steadfast love of God that delivers our souls from the depths of Sheol and out of the hands of the evil one. Turns out that creepy old movie was really nothing worth losing sleep over but without the steadfast love of the Lord Jesus, we would have been facing a reality of nightmarish proportions.

Let us give thanks and praise to Christ who confronted the depths of pain, suffering, and even death to win forever forgiveness, life and salvation for us all. A thousand thanks a day would never be sufficient to cover what He delivers to us every day!

Prayer

Gracious God, without Your steadfast love we could not live life to the fullest but instead would be facing an eternal nightmare! Thank You Lord for comforting us with Your living Word that calms our fears so that we may find rest for our souls in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rev. Robert Briggs – Lutheran Senior Services – Chaplain, Affordable Housing