“God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course…see how hungry I am for your counsel…” Psalm 119: 33-35 MSG
The sign read “All You Can Eat Buffet.” My senses went into overload as I surveyed all available for my consumption. After eating my fill, I left the buffet feeling exhausted and less than satisfied. My senses were dull, and what seemed like a good idea quickly became an occasion for regret. How could anyone leave a buffet, having eaten as much as I did, and still be dissatisfied?
The Psalmist’s words remind me of how often I have relentlessly consumed what life had to offer, pursuing what I believed would give my life meaning, only to realize later that I was merely filled-full, not fulfilled. Living the Christian life in a culture with so much that can appeal to our senses, we are easily tempted to try and fill ourselves with the desires of our hearts in ways that bring hurt and confusion rather than clarity and peace.
Ah, but there is hope! The Psalmist prayer suggests another way of living that does not lead to a parched and spiritually impoverished life but a life of fulfillment through faith-filled living. This way of living requires that we humble ourselves and seek God. Lent offers us this gift. “Teach me, O Lord” is more than just a declarative statement; it is also a cry for help and admittance that I cannot do life all by myself, that I need guidance and instruction to live life in ways that bring about flourishing. Critical to embracing these words is the necessary posture of humility. Humbleness leads to constructive ways of being in a relationship with God and others. Humbleness encourages not self-seeking but self-giving ways of living, which enrich life.
Practices of prayer, fasting, worship, scripture reading, and engaging others in the Christian community and beyond become critical for focusing our attention on that which is our chief end, namely, to glorify God. In this season of Lent, the Lord is calling us out of the darkness into his glorious light to bear witness that life in and with God is the only way of being that will faithfully fulfill our most intimate desires and order our lives in hope-filled ways that heal the abrasions left from living life our way.
Ours is a calling to a way of life through practices that enable us to draw closer to God so that we may cultivate a life fulfilled, not merely filled-full.
