| Prepare the way for the Lord … |
| —from Mark 1:3 |
“Wow!! Ouch!! I didn’t see that coming!”
That’s how most of us respond when we hit a pothole. Drive most any route these days, with your mind in reverie, and you will find that the announcement of the pending change of seasons from winter to spring often comes with the harbinger of potholes. The harder the winter, the more potholes scatter themselves along the surface of the roadways. The potholes lie in wait to catch unsuspecting drivers and shake them up, or even damage the suspension of their vehicles.
During this same period, the “Church Year” announces the upcoming Easter season with the harbinger known as the Season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday. Both potholes and Lent bring a time for preparation and repair. And, both should cause us to slow down, watch with care, and check what we are doing.
In Scripture we read of John the Baptist, the messenger, calling out in Mark 1:3:
“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.”
And, we read of the woman at Bethany anointing Jesus’ head with perfume and Jesus explaining in Mark 14:8:
“She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”
Reading these two verses should prompt us to ask:
“What kind of spiritual preparations and repairs do we need to consider for our own spiritual lives during this Season of Lent?”
First of all, we need to pay attention. Just as a driver needs to watch carefully and do everything possible to avoid the cavernous pothole pits, so we need to slow down, spend time before the Lord looking for the spiritual “potholes” that may have formed in the pathway of our lives over the long period of winter sleep. The Season of Lent gives us a logical time period to achieve these daily inspections and to plan appropriate repairs.
Please allow me to suggest that we learn to write our prayers of inspection in a journal or notebook during these 40 days. This will allow us to take the time to more carefully examine our lives, to recount what that examination has disclosed, and to repent of those things that have made “potholes” in our walk with God.
In preparing for this time of self-examination, let me also suggest that we read Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. These two Psalms provide fruitful places to begin the process of our Lenten self-examination.
Once we find the spiritual potholes that have scarred the pathway of our lives, we want to repair those holes in a way that will last. A spiritual pothole filled in with a temporary spiritual cold-patch may last only a day or two. The traffic of our lives will loosen the patch. Before long, the pothole will open up again and maybe become even deepen.
In repairing our sin-damaged lives, let’s learn to fill in the spiritual potholes with new ways of thinking, speaking, and acting. These new ways will prepare us to travel with the Lord in whatever direction He leads along a smoother, more stable pathway for our lives. These new ways will fill up our spiritual potholes in a way that will last for the long run.
New habits that not only patch old craters, but also strengthen us against the formation new spiritual potholes, will take time. When we slow down and listen to what God says to us through His written Word, He may instruct us to set aside time daily to meet with Him. Or, He may encourage us to continue writing our thoughts and prayers in a journal or notebook. Or, He may ask us to take on a new project that will benefit others in the name of Christ.
Sin creates the spiritual potholes in the first place. When we repent of those sins, we move forward on a new pathway and repair the scars along the old ways that we’ve traveled. Some deeper chasms may require confession, repentance, and restitution—not only to God, but to others as well. This kind of more intentional repair will bring lasting benefits to our relationships. God wants to restore us to new pathways, and strengthen us to walk more closely with Him.
During this Season of Lent, let’s determine to slow down, examine our lives, choose to fix the spiritual potholes in our lives, and mend them so strongly that we will prepare the road ahead for travel with Christ, day by day.
