A Change of Focus

           As you probably know, we’ve entered the season of Lent.  One of the things people do during Lent is decide to give something up.  For me, the last couple of years, it’s been Diet Coke.  I’ve given up Diet Coke and put the money I’ve saved toward the Gettysburg UMC church addition project.  I’ve also encouraged others to do the same.

           Now, don’t get me wrong.  I don’t consider giving up Diet Coke to be a huge sacrifice.  I like it, but I can get by without it.  I certainly don’t deserve praise for giving it up.  I look at it more as a way to raise some money for the church addition and to have a little fun at the same time.

           If you don’t give anything up for Lent, that’s fine.  You may, in fact, be in the position of the person who told me the other day, “At my age, I don’t have anything left to give up.”  Giving something up for Lent is fine if it’s something you choose to do, but you certainly don’t need to feel guilty if you don’t.

           I do hope, though, that you’ll take the time of Lent to think about a few things.  I hope we all do.    Specifically, I hope we take the time of Lent to think about our relationship with God.  I hope we think about ways we can make that a closer relationship, a deeper relationship.  I hope we think about how we can make God a part of everything we do, so that every aspect of our lives serves God in some way.

           That’s not easy.  It takes time.  It takes effort.  But we sometimes go about that effort in the wrong way.  We focus on what we have to do.  We focus on how we need to change.  It’s not wrong to think on those things—they’re a part of what we’re trying to do—but we can think too much about them.  Because if we’re going to change our lives in this way, we’re not going to be able to do it ourselves. 

           We need to think about what we’re going to do, but we need to make sure we leave room for God.  If we’re going to change, it’ll be because God changed us.  After all, if we could change by ourselves, we’d have done it by now.  The only way we can change is if we step back and allow God to act.  The only way we can change is if we focus on what God’s doing, rather than on what we have to do.

           So for this season of Lent, and hopefully beyond, let’s focus on God.  Let’s ask God to come into our hearts and change our lives.  If we truly and sincerely ask God to do that, I’m confident that God will.  But be ready!  Because when God changes our lives, God does that in some really unexpected ways. 

           They’re good ways, but they’re unexpected ways, and sometimes they make us nervous.  That’s okay.  Just keep trusting God.  If we trust God, God will always show us what to do, tell us what to say, and lead us where we need to go.