Journeying to Easter - Part 2Sample

It's hard work bowing down

Lent beckons us to pause, reflect, and recalibrate our hearts toward worship and surrender. To recognise God’s sovereignty and redeclare our dependence on Him.

Bowing down is uncomfortable. I’m not just referring to the prospect of no longer possessing the wherewithal to get back up, but the vulnerability of submission. When we lay prostrate, so close to the ground you can smell the soil, or dust in the carpet, we are cut off. We cannot scan the room or run. We can no longer shout or be fierce. We are limited and small.

Lent is a time to bow down. To shed the distractions and pretences that pull us away from God. It’s a call to humility, a physical reminder that we are deeply dependent on the Shepherd who lovingly guides His flock. In bowing we are forced to accept the reality that our sense of self-importance and independence are a mirage. Bowing both changes our status and reminds of our reality; we are dependent on God.

In entering a posture of worship, our surrender opens the door to transformation. In bowing down, we may examine the areas of our lives where pride, self-reliance, or complacency have taken root. Surrendering is not a passive exercise. It is demanding work.

Thankfully when we bow before God, His strength will help us stand once again.

Written by DWAYNE JEFFRIES