The Weekly Word Lent Series - A Devotion for the Third Week of Lent
During the six weeks of Lent, we are offering a special devotional series on the theme of “I AM.” We invite you to set aside a few minutes each week to join us in exploring who God is and how and where He is present in our daily lives.
The Scripture for today is from John 10: 14-16
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just like the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
Depending on how much time we spend immersed in various online and analog media, recent research indicates that we can be exposed to between 5,000 and 10,000 advertisements a day. Distracted by these myriad voices, many of which attempt to attract us with promises of wealth, power, security and control, our Shepherd’s voice often gets lost in the cacophony.
Jesus knows each one of us intimately. As Psalm 139 reminds us, our God has searched us and knows us; He has created our inmost being and knit us together in our mother’s womb. Even more amazing is the fact that God Himself invites us to know Him and to be in relationship with Him. However, because we live in a world in which thousands of voices vie for our attention every day, we need to be intentional about seeking silence so that we may better hear Him.
As Mother Teresa once observed, “God is the friend of silence. See how nature -- trees, flowers, grass -- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and sun, how they move in silence. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us.” Lent is an invitation to quiet the incessant noise in our lives in order that we may be better hear, as Mother Teresa said, what God has to say to us and through us.
Let us take time during these Lenten weeks to look to the sheep as they graze in quiet pastures, tuning the ears toward God as he invites us to listen to Him and to follow where He leads.
Gracious God, of all the many voices competing for my attention all day long, Yours is the only one that really matters. Thank you for this gift of Lent, a time to quiet my heart, mind and soul and to listen to where You are inviting me to follow You. Amen.