Lent Guide 2023Sample

Thursday - Hope

…so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

1 Thes. 4:13b

When Paul talks about loss and tears in Thessalonians, he invites me not to cry like someone without hope. Believers cry differently!

The tears I cry becomes the medicine the Spirit uses to heals en repair. Within that vulnerability I find that I am not alone. That He is there, in the deepest darkness.

I can meet losses full on knowing that there is a God. He is good. He knows tears. He is with me, and He strengthens me. Just like he was ultimately handed over and lost His freedom, health, reputation, and life, it wasn’t the end of Him. That is also the pattern according to which He works with me. I can rest assured that the new life is better than the old life I had. It might not look like it right away, but in time I will see it.

Share your despondency over your loss with Him and ask Him for trust in the way that He works within you.

Grace:

Lord, I ask for the grace of tears, to mourn my losses.