In honor of this season, I will be posting inspiring music for most of the next 40 days. I hope you’ll use this music as an opportunity to quiet and settle yourself; for contemplation, preparation, and thanksgiving. May you be encouraged and realize the felt presence of Peace and Love as you hear the music; may you hear the message meant for you in each of the musical offerings. Wishing you peace and every good!

IN MANY WAYS, the entire season of Lent is summed up in Christ’s words in Luke 21:34: “Be on guard.” Spiritual sobriety is the invitation before us in this extended season of repentance. We must wake up to the countless ways in which we are inattentive to his voice and unaware of our own apathy and anxiety.

If we do not have a habit of daily attentiveness to Christ, the seemingly mundane challenges of life can grow into an unbearable burden. Taken in isolation, these difficulties may seem small: financial anxiety, wayward children, loneliness, or a lack of intimacy. Yet if these longings are left unattended and allowed to fester, they will slowly but surely overtake our hearts and consume our every thought.

Faithful discipleship requires us to battle these temptations towards despondency and sorrow, contending for that which is eternal. In this way, Lent is a training ground for your soul. Enter the arena and pray to God for the strength to be unencumbered by sin and earthly cares, living instead with a heart set free to anticipate the coming of his kingdom.

Where Is God in My Pain?
by Lina Abujamra

I relived every moment of unshed tears while I fought with God tooth and nail for answers. I mourned so many wasted days in the valley. But then it occurred to me that it was the very deconstruction of my faith that opened my eyes to God. It was the deconstruction of my faith that gave me a taste of His unconditional love and never-ending grace. It was the deconstruction of my faith that rebuilt me inside and out.

Over the last few years, I’ve found that the deconstruction of one’s faith has many flavors but one common theme: pain. Your pain may not be church-related at all. Your pain may be much more personal. Your hurt may have been born out of deep abuse. Your struggle may be the result of repetitive disappointment and unshakeable bad “luck.” Your wounds may be the result of something you did or something that was done to you. Your skepticism may be due to your dissatisfaction with the standard answers you’ve heard to life’s most difficult questions.

It’s only when you finally let go of all the clutter you believe about God that you can make room for Him in your life again. When you stop long enough for God to reveal Himself to you as He really is, and not as you’ve made Him up to be, a slow reconstruction begins.

It happened to me. I know it can happen to you too.