Third Friday in Lent Devotion

Love over Fear and Anxiety                                  Third Friday in Lent - March 5, 2021

“… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

LSB 430 – My Song Is Love Unknown

(Verse 7 of this week’s hymn served as inspiration for today’s devotion.)

What are you looking for in your life? What are you looking for to give you some meaning to your life and who you are? Are you seeking out ways to better yourself, earn more money, the bigger house, the vacations? Are you seeking out a bigger ego; seeking out ways to make you feel better? Or are you looking to God, looking to your relationship with Him, being in His word, putting God first.

Where does our looking usually lead us? We usually find ourselves down the path of anxiety and worry. Anxiety and worry seem to be a normal part of our day…like waking up. We lift our heads and open our eyes to the alarm clock and there are the worries and anxieties standing over us to greet us. From the moment we wake it seems that the first thing we do is worry. Wake up and thank God for another day or worry about what is to come?

Jesus stops us today, and in the light of all the worries and anxieties, tells us DO NOT WORRY.  Our Lord tells us do not give way to the anxieties of your life, but look to God in faith; He will provide. Look at it this way, if God has taken it upon himself to give you life, don’t you think that He will provide you with the things necessary to sustain it?

Our God is a loving and giving God. First and foremost, God is the one who gave His dearest treasure for us, the gift of His Son so that, first and foremost, our salvation would be taken care of. He continues to give His life to you, with grace so overflowing that your cup will never be empty. God’s love is overflowing.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, it is easy for us to be consumed with the worry and anxieties of life, but your love transcends the deepest of our fears. By the power of your Holy Spirit, hold us secure in your love, so that when we worry and are anxious, we may meet the day with the confidence to know that You never leave us or forsake us.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Rev. Nathan Ruback – Grace Lutheran Chapel