Good morning, and Happy Spring Break! Today’s Lenten devotional comes to us from Lexi Pepper. Lexi is a junior from Plano, TX, and she is studying Entrepreneurship and Psychology with an emphasis in Leadership. She also serves as the President of TCU Wesley (our United Methodist campus ministry). I have had the opportunity to get to know Lexi during leadership trainings and over lunch; she is deeply curious about faith, passionate about justice and inclusion, and she has an incredible capacity of love for others. I hope you enjoy today’s devotional!
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
Reflection
It is easy to get caught up in the expectations of Christianity. It is hard to know what we are “supposed” to do to be a “good” Christian. Are we “supposed” to read our bible every day? Are we “supposed” to donate our money to the poor? It would be much easier if there was a step-by-step guide telling us how to do it. Things wouldn’t be so complicated, but things also wouldn’t be as fulfilling. There are a few parts of the Bible that tell us what we are “supposed” to do, and Ecclesiastes tells us of one of them. Ecclesiastes was the second book I ever did a Bible study on, and I attribute part of my outlook on life to the conversations stemming from this book. In this chapter, we learn that God wants us to enjoy our lives and that this is one of the gifts of God. God doesn’t want us to run ourselves into the ground and get tired of the things we used to love. God instead wants us to take time and appreciate our accomplishments, whatever the size.
The Lenten season is intentional about spending time with God and with ourselves, outside of the busyness of our lives. I hear a lot that people struggle to “make time” for God, but I have learned that there is no such thing as making time for God because God is always with us, in the busyness and in the chaos. Ecclesiastes tells us that if we find joy in our lives and spread good around us, we are spending time with God. This Lenten season I am working on being with God in the craziness that is a day in college. But I am also working on taking time for myself to escape from the busyness to better appreciate my toil and share the love of God with others.
There is not a guide to become a “good” Christian, but taking a step back to appreciate all of the amazing things we can do and the amazingness of God is a step in the right direction.
Take some time for yourself this season. You are holy, you are worthy, and you are loved. God believes that and so should you.
Let us pray.
Dear God, help us to find peace in our lives this Lenten Season. We are so thankful that you are always with us, and forgive us for not always remembering that. Thank you so much for giving us the gift of joy and for encouraging us to love our lives. Amen.
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