ASH WEDNESDAY Deuteronomy 4: 29

Greg Lund        Deuteronomy 4: 29

ASH WEDNESDAY

This is one of those verses in the Bible we love to "cherry pick" because it is such a shining promise:

"You will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after Him with all your heart and soul."

These words, however, come right on the heels of much darker predictions.  God's people are warned not to grow complacent and not to serve "other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell."  An idol dupes people into believing that it can hear requests and meet needs.  Only when God's people hit bottom, when they stopped seeking false gods, were they ready to seek the true God.

We may not have little figurines of foreign gods, but our culture has no shortage of idols.  A new car may seem to have a personality.  It's easy to forget that it is an artful jumble of metal and plastics.  A computer or television can offer imitation community that can become addictive.  The voice on the radio makes us feel less alone, but it cannot hear us.  Our investments cannot truly protect our future; nor do they care.  Lent is a time of reflecting on what we serve and trust in place of the One who has earned our trust.

When we come to the end of our imitation gods, we become ready to truly seek God with heart and soul.  God loves us so much that He uses even our failures to pave the road to faith.  We seek God because he first sought us in Christ.  This book of devotionals is a wonderful way to keep company with others who are seeking with heart and soul.

O God, who seeks us, show us the emptiness of all we worship in place of You.  During this Lent, draw us closer.  Teach us the habit of trust, and remind us that you hear us, see us, and love us every moment.  In Christ we pray, Amen.